The government announced a four-year plan to set up the Big Data Healthcare Platform.  This plan will be jointly funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).  It will receive an initial budget of NT$810 million for the first year.  It aims to support the development of the precision medicine industry.  The government will also encourage domestic and international drug companies and genetic testing sites to participate and invest in this plan.

The Summit of Precision Medicine for Cancers in Taiwan was held on the 17th by the Taiwan Oncology Society and the National Health Research Institute.  Dr. Yang Pan-Chyr (Academician of the Academia Sinica), Dr. Chen Li-Tzong (President of the Taiwan Oncology Society) and Dr. Yang Chih-Hsin (Cancer Specialist of the NTUH) delivered speeches in the Summit and commented on the Big Data Healthcare Platform project.

Dr. Chen Li-Tzong said in the Summit that the government’s plan for this cross-departmental project aims to create a platform for big data in healthcare.  This project is funded by the MOST, the MOHW and the MOEA.  The government will get international and domestic drug companies involved in this project.

For example, the National Health Research Institute has successfully concluded the “Precision Medicine Cooperation Alliance Agreement” signed by ACT Genomics, Novartis and Pfizer.  ACT Genomics has submitted a precision medicine genetic testing project, and Pfizer and Novartis have put forward two projects of genetic testing for lung cancer.  This agreement kicks off the cooperation on the Big Data Healthcare Platform.

According to the government’s initial plan, the Big Data Healthcare Platform has two major tasks: 1. to create a database for precision medicine; 2. to translate and apply the big data.  The Minister of the National Development Council mentioned the government’s four major policies on the precision medicine industry, including: 1. to establish the gene and NHI big databank, 2. to develop a precision healthcare system for prevention, diagnosis and treatment, 3. to develop precision disease prevention products, and 4. o expand international biopharmaceutical market.

Applying the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology to cancer treatments is now an international trend.  Taiwan is lagging behind many other countries and should work hard to catch up with the development, said Dr. Yang Chih-Hsin.  Also, Dr. Yang Pan-Chyr mentioned that the MOHW is going to discuss about including the NGS in the NHI Benefit Scheme.

【2021-01-18/ Economic Daily】