The government says that, for the first time, two new cancer drugs have been approved for registration here under its new "1+" mechanism. They are oral-targeted drugs to treat metastatic colorectal cancer, where chemotherapy has been ineffective.

The mechanism was announced by the Chief Executive John Lee in his policy address in October.

Under the system, applications to register new drugs for severe diseases - and which are backed by local clinical data - need only get approval from one reference drug regulatory authority, instead of the original two.

The new drugs can register in Hong Kong after the applications are assessed by local experts and approved by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong.

"Having the registration approval from the reference drug regulatory authority and the local clinical data submitted by the applicant considered and the Expert Group on Drug Registration consulted, the board considered that the two new drugs satisfied the criteria of safety, efficacy and quality," the government said in a statement.

It said the drugs had been approved on Thursday and that the details of the drugs will be uploaded to the board's website.

The government said the Department of Health had so far received enquiries from nearly 50 pharmaceutical companies.