TTGassociations Publications January 2019 | Page 14

Chan takes on speaker duties
China Pharmaceutical Innovation and
Research Development Association joined
IFPMA and I flew to the capital and as-
sisted it by reviewing its first draft of the
code with other members.
What’s the biggest challenge in the
work that you do for HKAPI?
It’s how to align different members’ de-
mands and thinking (with our goals and
activities). We have adopted various meth-
ods to obtain members’ thoughts, such
having our CEO to meet with the general
managers of member companies to seek
their views. Prior to that, we conducted
member surveys.
We adopt an evidence-based discussion
approach and we carry out a lot of surveys
and research. As such, coordination and
support from members is vital.
When developing systems, I need to
balance societal benefits with compli-
ance clauses. I am fortunate to have the
support of the Board of Directors. Our
members treat me well too.
No matter how different the Board’s
view is during discussion, we must unani-
mously align with the outcome.
I am also very proud of our high ethical
standards and compliance to the Code of
Practice. For years we have worked very
hard on this for the industry because if
one member were to breach the code, it
would be a loss for the whole industry.
HKAPI marked its 50 th anniversary in
2018. What’s your vision for the next
50 years?
We hope to help Hong Kong citizens
expediently use innovative and effective
healthcare solutions, and to continue to
foster professional development to fuel
industry growth.
Undoubtedly, our ongoing responsibil-
ity is to leverage the experience we gain
from different places and multinational
companies, and share best practices with
our members to improve our medical
system.
This is our dedication and explains why
many position papers have been submit-
ted over the last decade. One cannot
imagine why a small office of six people
would drive so many qualitative research
and surveys. Some of these surveys are
not one-off, rather they are question-
naires sent out regularly to monitor the
effectiveness of a particular system.
Tell me more about HKAPI’s efforts on
professional development.
HKAPI is a platform equipped with
different forms of training for members
because of good submission practice and
good review practice. High ethical stand-
ard is our cornerstone.
We conduct systematic educational
programmes such as a 22-week course
for nominated medical representa-
tives from member companies. We also
conduct regulatory training programmes
such as the one implemented with the
University of Hong Kong (HKU). HKU
students are welcome to participate
for free to gain professional knowledge
outside of their syllabus. As well, our
ongoing Code of Practice workshop takes
place at least once a year, drawing about
120 participants. All these are in addition
to our patients’ workshops and trainer
training sessions.
On the academic front, we support
HKU and Macau University each year
by staging a seminar to exchange intel-
ligence on healthcare systems or special
topics involving the two cities. Our semi-
nar this year focused on public-private
partnership in the healthcare system.
And finally, we have the Patient
Empowerment Forum which is organised
annually with the Hospital Authority and
Hong Kong Alliance for Patient Organiza-
tions. It is now in its fifth year, and the
2018 edition covered topics like diabetes,
medical device, digital device, medicine
and home care. The event promotes
exchange among stakeholders, academic
members and even governments.
A champion for
ethical standards
Prior to joining the pharmaceutical indus-
try, Sabrina Chan was with the External
Affairs Department of i-CABLE Commu-
nications, tackling government relations,
regulatory issues, corporate affairs, and the
promotion of the company’s core products
and services.
She co-founded the Telecommunica-
tions Research Project under the Centre
of Asia Studies (University of Hong Kong,
HKU), and was a journalist for various print
and electronic media outlets.
Chan studied communications in
Hong Kong when she began her tertiary
education. She holds a graduate degree in
International Studies from the University
of Sheffield (UK), as well as law degrees
from the Chinese University of Hong Kong
(CUHK) and University of Tsinghua (China).
She is a member of the High Level
Steering Committee on Antimicrobial
Resistance and of the Business Facilitation
Advisory Committee in Hong Kong.
Other career achievements include:
• A close partnership with universi-
ties in the roles of Chair of Advisory
Board of the HKU Bachelor of Phar-
macy Programme, and as Adjunct
Assistant Professor of CUHK School
of Pharmacy
• A long-time member of the Working
Committee to develop strategies
for promulgating Codes of Practice
across APEC economies
• A mentor with APEC and IFPMA
programmes, where she shared best
practices through training work-
shops and panel discussions at vari-
ous forums attended by delegates
from APEC member economies and
biopharmaceutical sector experts