On the evening of 21 May 2026, the Ninth World Finance Forum Annual Conference and Intercontinental Dialogue 2026 took place in Hong Kong. Innogen received the World Finance Forum's Technology Innovation Leading Enterprise award for efsubaglutide alfa (Diabegone®), described as the world's first China-originated, human-derived, ultra-long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist.
Founder, chairman and CEO Professor Qinghua Wang joined a roundtable with entrepreneurs in semiconductors, new energy and nuclear energy to discuss ‘Rooted in China, embracing Hong Kong, serving the world: a new international narrative for China's technology innovators.’
During the opening questions, moderator Yuan Peng, co-founder of Langmafeng Venture Capital (朗玛峰创投), asked what Hong Kong's most irreplaceable value is for Chinese deep-technology companies. Professor Wang answered: “Hong Kong is an ‘international credibility converter’ for China-originated medicines. By applying internationally accepted regulatory and clinical standards, it transforms data validated in China into assets trusted globally.” He added: “Hong Kong gives China-originated medicines a ‘credential of trust’ for the world.”
In the subsequent sector-specific discussion, Professor Wang explained his confidence in a Chinese approach to GLP-1 medicines. He cited two differentiating strengths: a focus on long-term management of metabolic syndrome rather than short-term weight-loss trends, with higher patient adherence; and China's extensive clinical resources and efficient R&D ecosystem, allowing Phase III trials to progress two to three years faster than those of multinational companies. “GLP-1 will not be a winner-takes-all market,” he said. “China-originated medicines have a real opportunity to occupy a distinctive position: high quality, affordable and suited to emerging markets.”
Professor Wang expressed strong expectations for Hong Kong's proposed primary drug-review mechanism. Once implemented, he believed, Hong Kong would become a base for Chinese companies' global multicenter trials, rather than only a sales market after approval, with Hong Kong authorization enabling faster expansion into Southeast Asia, the Middle East and countries along the Belt and Road. “This could bring our international development forward by two to three years,” he said. “Once the policy takes effect, Innogen is willing to be among the first companies to apply.”
At the close of the roundtable, he was asked what core capability Chinese technology innovators most need to build over the next three to five years. He replied: “The ability to define Chinese standards within global rules. Technology can catch up or even move ahead, but for a long time the rules have been written by others. We need to participate actively in, and even lead, rule-setting in the ‘soft infrastructure’ of international regulation, intellectual property and clinical design. That is what it means to serve the world.”
The conference's theme was “Seeking new anchors for stability and growth: reshaping and adapting to the global economic and financial landscape in a fragmented, turbulent world.” It attracted leaders from finance, technology and industry worldwide. Innogen is a Hong Kong-listed innovative-drug company. Its core product Diabegone® shows strong market potential and original-research competitiveness in metabolic disease. Professor Wang's remarks conveyed the confidence of China's original-drug developers and offered an industry perspective on Hong Kong's role as an international medical-innovation hub.
About Innogen
Founded in 2014, Innogen (HK.2591) develops and commercializes innovative medicines for metabolic diseases. Its independently developed pipeline covers indications including type 1 diabetes (T1D), obesity, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with global intellectual property and patent coverage. Its core product, efsubaglutide alfa, is an independently developed, new-generation, human-derived, ultra-long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist approved in mainland China and Macau for type 2 diabetes and included in the National Drug Reimbursement List for Basic Medical Insurance, Maternity Insurance and Work Injury Insurance (2025 edition). It has entered global development and registration, with the aim of providing better treatment options for patients worldwide. For more information, visit www.innogenpharm.com.