HKUMedXelerate 2025 Project Showcase: Pioneering Therapeutic and Drug Discovery Breakthroughs

We're thrilled to continue our HKUMedXelerate 2025 series, spotlighting our top innovations driving the future of healthcare. As we wrap up this campaign, we're diving into Advanced Immunotherapy and Therapeutic Discovery—two trailblazing projects harnessing nucleic acid vaccines and AI-optimized conjugates to combat HIV, cancers, and neuromuscular diseases, addressing needs for 39 million people living with HIV and beyond.

1. Development of First-in-Class PD-1 Enhanced Nucleic Acid Vaccine Technology Platform and Therapeutic Nucleic Acid Vaccine

Led by Prof. Zhiwei Chen, this platform advances a groundbreaking PD-1-enhanced nucleic acid vaccine, with flagship product ICVAX—a therapeutic HIV vaccine that induces broad-spectrum, multifunctional T cells to control viral replication without antiretroviral therapy (ART), targeting a functional HIV cure.

Phase I trial data from 2024 confirmed robust T cell immunogenicity, setting the stage for Phase II trials and a planned Breakthrough Therapy Application, with commercialization eyed for 2028. The versatile platform extends to cancers like EBV-related nasopharyngeal carcinoma and mesothelin-targeted immunotherapy, potentially slashing Hong Kong's HK$750M annual cART costs while serving 11,943 local and 39 million global patients with HIV.

Strategic partnerships with CDMOs and CROs will streamline production and trials, positioning this "made in Hong Kong" innovation as a global immunotherapy leader.

Learn more: Scan QR or click HERE to visit

2. An AI-Driven Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOC) Discovery Platform for Neuromuscular Diseases

Led by Prof. Joshua Wing Kei Ho and Saint Novel Biotech Limited, NovelAOC is the first end-to-end AI platform for AOC discovery, founded by an interdisciplinary team from innovators in Nobel Laureate’s lab to biotech veterans who licensed a first-in-class antibody drug to Sanofi.

This paradigm is already proven, generating millions of dollars in revenue within 4 months, securing over HK$15M in non-dilutive grants, and earning validation through partnerships with global leaders and pharmaceutical companies. The platform's four synergistic modules span target to Pre-Clinical Candidate validation, by applying this validated engine to engineer best-in-class AOCs from neuromuscular diseases to ophthalmology. By leveraging humanized and biologically-relevant data, NovelAOC has great promise for superior tissue penetration (including the blood-brain barrier) and immunogenicity elimination at the source. This positions NovelAOC not just as a therapeutics company, but as the architect of a smarter, faster, and more reliable drug discovery future.

Learn more: Scan QR or click HERE to visit

These projects underscore Hong Kong's emergence as a biomedical R&D powerhouse, blending AI, immunotherapy, and precision discovery for healthier futures. 

Thank you for joining this series—it's been inspiring to share these innovations!