Bulletin Spring‧Summer Autumn‧Winter 1999

Above ： The conventional method of cataract extraction and intraocular implantation Below ： The new technique of phacoemulsification Introduced to Hong Kong a few years ago, phacoemulsification means using an ultrasonic machine to melt the nucleus of the patient's lens before removing it from the eyeball, while scleral fixation is the implantation of the intraocular lens by sewing it directly to the sclera (the white of the eye) with a special needle and suture. The symposium was attended by more than 200 experts from 20 countries, who watched demonstrations of cataract surgery televised live to them at the symposium venue. They also practised the new techniques on pigs' eyes in a hands-on wet lab session. Centre for Financial Research on China Established A Centre for Financial Research on China (CFRC) was established under the Asia-Pacific Institute of Business in June 1994 to launch research on China's financial markets and to provide related consultancy services. It w i ll also promote interaction among academics and practitioners in the field and serve as a clearinghouse for data on financial markets in China. One of the centre's immediate plans is the creation of a Financial Markets Database to support academic and applied research. The database will consist of two parts: the 'China and Hong Kong Stock Market Database' which records daily stock trading figures, financial and accounting statistics, and publicly-listed companies in China and Hong Kong; and the 'China and Hong Kong Financial Derivatives Database' which contains data on futures, options and mutual funds in China and Hong Kong. The centre will also promote interdisciplinary, comparative and applied research on the capital markets in the area, publish research findings, develop consultancy and training programmes for the securities industries in China and Hong Kong, and organize international conferences. C U H K Initiates Bioequivalence Studies to Ascertain D r e g Qua l i t y As a result of the rapid growth of the pharmaceutical industry in Hong Kong, many brands of the same medicine have appeared on the local market, all claiming to be effective and to contain the same amount of active drug. Some claims may be unsubstantiated, and lead to treatment failures and toxicity. It is thus essential that physicians, pharmacists and others who prescribe, dispense or purchase drugs be able to identify products that are safe and effective. To allay doubts about the quality and efficacy of drugs and to maintain the credibility of Hong Kong's pharmaceutical industry, bioequivalence studies of local generic drugs are being initiated jointly by the departments of clinical pharmacology and pharmacy of this university. Tests w i ll be performed to check that different brands of a certain medicine contain the same amount of drug as stated by the manufacturers and that the drug is in such a form as to be effectively absorbed by the human body. This bioequivalence studies programme, the first of its kind in the territory, is actively supported by the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry Council of The Federation of Hong Kong Industries, and financed by a generous donation of HK$500,000 from Pharmakon International Laboratory Ltd. News in Brief 34