e-Bulletin July 2026

Establishment of the Health Technology Assessment Collaboration Hub (HTA HUB)
Driving Value-Based Decisions and Sustainable Healthcare Innovation

We are pleased to announce the establishment of the Health Technology Assessment Collaboration Hub (HTA HUB). Anchored by our School, the Hub is strategically positioned to serve as the primary academic reference group for Health Technology Assessment in Hong Kong.

Rapid growth in health expenditure, driven by demographic ageing and emerging high-cost medical technologies, is placing unprecedented pressure on Hong Kong’s healthcare system sustainability. In response to major institutional shifts, such as changes to the drug formulary update process and the creation of the Institute for Medical Advancements and Clinical Excellence (IMACE), HTA HUB steps in to bridge a critical gap. It will promote the development of HTA as an interdisciplinary field.

Led by Professor Manuel Espinoza, along with a multidisciplinary team of local and international experts, the Hub will operate through three interrelated pillars:

• Research: Advancing methodological and applied health economic frameworks, including locally grounded cost-effectiveness thresholds and equity-focused evaluations.
• Training: Delivering specialised modular webinars, seminars, and workshops. In the long run, the Hub expects to broaden its training scope by developing training programmes for different target audiences such as professionals from the Health Bureau and Hospital Authority under the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, industry partners, and postgraduate students.
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Internally, the Hub draws on the multidisciplinary expertise of our School to integrate epidemiological modelling, health economic evaluation, and clinical research within a cohesive research framework. Externally, it fosters collaborative networks spanning clinical, economic, epidemiological, and social disciplines, linking local healthcare stakeholders and regulators with leading global institutions.

In the long term, HTA HUB is envisioned as a platform that will position our School as the reference academic node for HTA in Asia. For more information, please contact the team at htahub@hku.hk .