In the realm of research and innovation, breakthroughs often emerge from the collaboration between academia and industry, fuelling advancements that address critical societal challenges. PolyU exemplified this spirit at the 5th Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions Hong Kong (AEII), where it garnered an impressive 18 accolades from 16 participating projects, including the prestigious Grand Award for the second consecutive year.

PolyU’s achievements at AEII highlight its unwavering commitment to leveraging research innovation for the betterment of Hong Kong, the Nation, and the global community. The accolades included one Grand Award, one Special Award, two Gold Medals with Congratulations of Jury, five Gold Medals, eight Silver Medals, and one Bronze Medal. Notably, two standout projects were developed by the InnoHK Centre for Eye and Vision Research (CEVR), a collaboration between PolyU and the University of Waterloo.

One of these key projects, “Viromids: A Redosable, Low-Cost Gene-Delivery Platform for Ocular Therapy”, was led by Roderick Slavcev, Associate Professor of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Waterloo and Principal Investigator of CEVR and Professor Huang Chien-ling, Associate Professor of the Department of Health and Informatics at PolyU and Principal Investigator of CEVR. Viromids is a revolutionary virome-inspired gene-delivery platform that features immune silence, a payload capacity of 8-15 kb, and bacterial-scale manufacturability. By enabling the delivery of large genes with repeatable dosing at significantly reduced production costs, Viromids presents a practical and accessible solution for preserving and restoring sight in patients with inherited retinal diseases. Its scalable production model positions it as a foundational technology for next-generation affordable gene therapies worldwide.

Another noteworthy achievement was the First Prize of Inventions Geneva Award and a Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury awarded to the project “PD-001R – A New Breakthrough for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases”. This project was spearheaded by Professor Simon Lee Ming-yuen, Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine Innovation, Chair Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, and Founder of PolyU startup AIM Pharmaceutical International Limited, in collaboration with Dr Zhao Chen, Postdoc Fellow at the Department of Food Science and Nutrition and Chief Technology Officer of PolyU startup AIM Pharmaceutical International Limited. PD-001R is a novel small-molecule drug candidate for Parkinson’s disease, demonstrating promising results in preclinical studies by efficiently crossing the blood-brain barrier and exhibiting neuroprotective effects.

The remarkable performance of PolyU teams at AEII embodies the University’s mission of PolyImpact—developing inventions that contribute to global well-being. Among the award-winning innovations, seven were created by PolyU startups, showcasing the strength of the University’s PolyVentures ecosystem, which has supported over 600 startups to date, including three unicorns and two listed companies.

Organised by The Hong Kong Exporters’ Association in partnership with Palexpo, AEII serves as a prestigious annual exhibition dedicated to innovations across Asia, attracting around 140 projects this year. These accolades affirm PolyU’s dedication to research excellence and societal impact.

Click here for details on the winning projects.

The project “Viromids: A Redosable, Low-Cost Gene-Delivery Platform for Ocular Therapy”, developed by Prof. Roderick Slavcev (3rd from right) and Prof. Huang Chien-Ling (2nd from right) won the Grand Award and a Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury.

Led by Prof. Simon Lee Ming-yuen and Dr Zhao Chen (centre), the project “PD-001R – A Breakthrough in Neurodegenerative Disease Treatment” secured the First Prize of Inventions Geneva Award and a Gold Medal with Jury Congratulations.