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Kazakhstan and Hong Kong explore biotech-unicorn partnership
A Nazarbayev University dean said the effort could connect local AI and digital health startups with capital and government support across the two regions.
Kazakhstan and Hong Kong are exploring how to build biotech “unicorns,” private start-ups valued at US$1 billion or more, by linking Kazakhstan’s tech workforce with Hong Kong’s global financial network, a senior academic said. South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that Huck-Hui Ng, dean of the school of medicine at Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University, made the comments during a panel Monday at the outlet’s inaugural “China Conference: Central Asia 2026” in Astana.
Ng said Kazakhstan’s nascent biotech sector has already produced several start-ups working on areas including artificial intelligence and digital health, and that the country could build a substantial ecosystem with the right policies and government support. He added that there is an opportunity to connect entrepreneurs with capital, ideas, and government backing across the two regions.
SCMP said Kazakhstan is also pushing to become a regional healthcare hub, including by having its drug regulator become the first in Central Asia to win World Health Organization certification for meeting global standards, after the regulator achieved that certification in April.
The report also noted that Kazakhstan has attracted manufacturing investments from overseas drug makers, including companies in China, and is rolling out artificial intelligence to help with diagnosis at clinics nationwide.