Award | 1 Jun 2026

Phagocytex won the Grand Prize and First Prize at The 12th Hong Kong University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.

‹ ›

ABCT PhD students Dr. Rainbow Leung Wing Hei and Dr. Martina Lei Mang Leng won the Grand Prize and First Prize at The 12th Hong Kong University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.

Under the supervision of Professor Terence Lee and Professor Clarence Wong, their project, titled "Therapeutic efficacy of peptide-linked chimeric antigen receptor macrophages (pCAR-M) in solid tumors," developed a peptide-linked CAR-Macrophage platform addressing the broad cancer need highlighted by Phagocytex, including potential relevance across 92% of all cancers.

Out of 753 projects and 2,116 participants, this marks the first time a PolyU team has received an award in the Life Science category. The team has also launched the biotech startup Phagocytex Limited, supported by the PolyU KTEO MicroFund 2025-2026.

This achievement comes as the department transitions into the Division of Life Sciences this July. It also aligns with the National 15th Five-Year Plan supporting Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology hub.

Congratulations to the entire team for bringing honour to the department and PolyU. Phagocytex looks forward to this new chapter and remains committed to advancing life science research and education, contributing to scientific discovery, innovation, and the training of future leaders in the field.