Welcome to ISPOR Hong Kong Chapter

1. The Executive Committee
*President:* Kenneth K.C. Lee BSPharm, PhD Associate Professor School of Pharmacy The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR	*Secretary:* Joyce H.S. You PharmD, BCPS Assistant Professor School of Pharmacy The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR
*President-Elect:* Thomas Y.K. Chan MBChB, PhD Associate Professor Department of Medicine and Therapeutics The Chinese University of Hong Kong HKSAR	*Treasurer:* Clara B.S. Lau BPharm, PhD Assistant Professor School of Pharmacy The Chinese University of Hong Kong HKSAR
2. Corresponding Members
*Mainland China:* Professor Z.Y. Tan Institute of Materia Medica Guangdong College of Pharmacy Guangzhou P.R. China	*Europe:* Dr Ian Wong BPharm, PhD Lecturer, School of Pharmacy Bradford University U.K.
3. Inauguration Ceremony and First Meeting, December 9, 2001, Hong Kong
The Inauguration Ceremony and First Meeting of the ISPOR-Hong Kong Chapter took place in Hong Kong in the morning of December 9, 2000. It was attended by over 80 participants from the Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China, Singapore and Australia. It was our great honour to have the following distinguished guests officiating at the Ceremony: Dr. Bryan Luce, Immediate Past-President, ISPOR; Prof. Sydney S.C. Chung, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Dr. S.P. Mak, Acting Deputy Director, the Department of Health, HKSAR; Dr. S.V. Lo, Executive Manager (Professional Services), the Hospital Authority, HKSAR and Mr. Stephen Leung, President of the Hong Kong Association of Pharmaceutical Industry. After the lighting ceremony, four distinguished speakers gave their talks: The role of evidence based pharmacotherapy in modern medicine, by Dr. Michael Ortiz, Health Outcomes Manager, Pfizer Corp.; How to use pharmacoeconomic evidences of new drugs in decision making, by Dr. Jim Li, Outcomes Research Scientist, Pharmacia Corp.; Pharmacoeconomics and pharmacy practice: the role of the Pharmacy School, by Prof. Moses S.S. Chow, Director and Professor, School of Pharmacy, the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Pharmacoeconomics: the local perspective, by Prof. Kenneth K.C. Lee. The event was widely covered by the local media. Thanks to the hard work of Prof. Z.Y. Tan, the ISPOR-Hong Kong Chapter was well publicized in Mainland China after the publication of a report on the Inauguration Ceremony and First Meeting in *Pharmacoeconomics News* — a national weekly periodical on pharmacoeconomics. The Organizing Committee would also like to thank Pfizer, Pharmacia, SmithKlein Beecham and AstraZeneca for their support.
4. Membership Drive
Following several meetings in Hong Kong and Guangzhou between the Executive Committee and Prof. Z.Y. Tan, the logistics and plans to publicize the Hong Kong Chapter and recruit members have been finalized. We are expecting to receive an official approval for registration as a non-profit making organization from the local authority soon. A formal publicity campaign for membership will then be launched.
5. National Conference on Health Economics co-organized with the Institute of Health Economics of the State Drug Administration of China
After a series of meetings, an agreement to co-organize the National Conference has been reached with the representative from the State Drug Administration of China. Tentatively, it will be held in early December 2001 in Guangzhou. Speakers from both overseas and Hong Kong will be invited to give presentations. Further details will be channeled to the ISPOR headquarters for dissemination to Members.
6. Financial Status
The Inauguration Ceremony and First Meeting has been sponsored by four pharmaceutical companies. With the official registration of the Chapter, incomes from membership fees are expected. An auditor will then be appointed to deal with the financial affairs.
Submitted by Kenneth K.C. Lee President (2001-3) May 2001