In the last month, LightOx’s Dr Sam Whitehouse and Professor Carrie Ambler travelled to Hong Kong and Singapore, building relationships, making connections and gaining an understanding of the shifting landscape of healthcare innovation, investment and adoption in a part of the world that’s moving fast.
Hong Kong: A global summit with regional significance
“It’s been a fantastic past few weeks travelling to Hong Kong for International Medical and Healthcare Week 2025,” says Dr Sam Whitehouse. “The event is essentially three conferences rolled into one. One focused on global health, tackling things like infectious disease and new cancer treatments. Another explored what the next generation of hospitals might look like. And the final strand was all about investment and IP – how Hong Kong and China are treating intellectual property in the pharma space.”
The LightOx team attended as part of a UK delegation supported by the Department for Business and Trade who helped broker conversations with investors. Sam commented, “LightOx will be looking to license in this part of the world, so being in Hong Kong for this summit meant we were in the room with the right kinds of people – investors, hospital groups and potential partners.”
Professor Carrie Ambler adds: “There’s a real energy in Hong Kong. The region is actively positioning itself as a bridge between the global life sciences community and China. The government has put excellent incentive programmes in place, including matched investment initiatives and funding support for businesses relocating to the area. And they are very serious about attracting IP-rich, innovation-driven companies.”
Speed, scale and new perspectives
“One of the standout impressions from Hong Kong was the speed at which decisions are made,” says Sam. “You can be at an event and you get pointed to someone on the other side of the room who runs one of the region’s biggest investment firms. The next thing you know you are talking to them and a follow-up might happen the next day. That pace is very different from what we see in the UK or the US and you have to be in the room to make those connections and have those conversations.”
Carrie confirms that pace is a key differentiator: “Hong Kong really emphasises efficiency, and some of the biggest pharmaceutical deals that have happened this year have come out of southeast Asia. There’s is excellent science taking place, high quality products being produced and regional activity to support life sciences businesses to locate there, grow and access global markets.”
The potential reach of LightOx’s work is also expanded in this region. “Different locations also bring different markets,” Sam continues. “In China, oral cancer ranks as the second most common cancer, largely due to the prevalence of chewing tobacco and smoking across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, and Southeast Asia. By working in this region we have the potential to reach huge numbers of people who can benefit from our early-stage treatments, which can help prevent the need for surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.”
A different appetite for innovation
“My experience from similar events in the USA is that there can be a lot of similarity in what’s being developed there,” Sam observes. “We see a lot of late-stage treatments, aimed at people who might already have had surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. There are a lot of eggs in a very small basket which is why we need to see more diversification in treatments.”
“At LightOx, we’re doing something different because we’re focused on early-stage treatments. We saw more appetite for this kind of innovation in Asia than I have seen in the USA. People are interested and they want to get involved.”
Professor Ambler agrees. “There was real interest in early disease intervention and the idea of a treatment which can be rolled out in different clinical and non-clinical settings.”
As part of their visit, the LightOx team also visited Gleneagles Hospital. “It’s a private hospital with multiple branches across Asia,” Sam explains. “Their focus is on new technologies and bringing different solutions and treatments to their patients wherever they can.”
Singapore: Building what’s next
Asked of their trip to Singapore, Sam adds, “Singapore was different but just as important. We already have relationships with suppliers and investors in Singapore so this was about reconnecting.”
“It was also about developing a prototype device which will be used in the clinical trials of our oral cancer treatment. I knew that our contacts in Singapore could make this for us quickly and efficiently and I’m pleased to say we have made massive progress on this.”
Carrie adds: “We’ve been working with collaborators in Singapore for a long time. The team building our light device really understand our needs and are working to the specifications required for clinical use. We’re not far off trials now, and having this kind of hands-on engineering support makes a big difference.”
Sam continues: “At the same time, we spoke with a number of investors who we have known for many years. Again, the pace is different; things move very quickly. People are always looking for new technologies and when you’re developing a new, early stage treatment for a disease that’s prevalent, with a methodology that could be adopted by every hospital, they are interested.”
“There’s also a very clear can-do attitude in both Hong Kong and Singapore,” Carrie adds. “They see the value in what we’re doing and want to help support our goals, financially, through research partnerships or simply just by getting things done.”
Global reach and speed of adoption
“We’re now heading towards clinical trials,” Sam says. “And when people can see the product, the pathway and capital already invested, that makes a difference. And it matters that we have already secured investment and support in the UK. Investors abroad want to know that your neighbours believe in you too.”
“Asia also offers something the UK can’t always match: speed of adoption. You can speak to one private hospital and they might have 70 sites around the world. One conversation quickly becomes 70 meaning the population we can reach becomes bigger as well.”
He concludes. “We are moving quickly and are expecting to carry out clinical trials for our lead candidate next year as we continue having conversations with partners and investors who are ready to support our work and help us reach our goals. It’s an exciting time for the LightOx business and it’s encouraging to see that support and belief in what we are doing grow and evolve across the globe as we do.”
