The National BioBank Consortium of Taiwan (NBCT) has attracted a lot of attention from international pharmaceutical companies.  A pharmaceutical alliance formed by 3 international pharmaceutical companies, Roche, Merck KGaA and Chugai, signed an agreement with the MOHW and the NHRI to embark on a collaboration project.  This project will be a showcase for the NBCT.  By using the biobank for the development of precision treatments for cancers, this project aims to create a personalized precision healthcare network.

Dr Liang Kung-Yee, President of the NHRI, expressed that as of 2020, there were already 33 biobanks in Taiwan, collectively holding 310,000 bio records.  The MOHW established the NBCT in October 2019 with a view to integrating those 33 biobanks and to linking it to over 100 data banks, including the NHI data bank, cancer data bank and mortality data bank. The integration process is about to complete.  This agreement between the health authority and the pharmaceutical alliance is the first NBCT collaboration project with the industry.

According to Merck KGaA, this collaboration focuses on the data collection for Cartesian Genetic Programming (CGP).  In the initial stage, the target will be on lung cancer.  By applying the technological advancements in precision medicine, researchers hope to find more effective treatments for lung cancer.

According to Merck KGaA, the company is very optimistic about the advanced biomedical environment in Taiwan.  Already in last July, the company signed a memorandum of collaboration with the NHRI to combine their technical and R&D expertise to strengthen the development of precision healthcare with a focus on cancer screening and treatments.  They will work together to realize the holistic precision health care system in 2030. 

Roche will focus on the genetic test for cancers and help doctors to plan out the personalized treatment programme for individual patients using the targeted therapies developed by Roche, Merck KGaA and Chugai. 

This collaboration project has four major objectives: 1. to improve the integration of the national gene bank and bio banks; 2. to record genetic test data and clinical data of certain cancers; 3. to create the mechanism for evaluating precision treatments; 4. to apply RWE to drug R&D and market authorization.

Shih Chung-Ling of the MOHW expressed that this project is derived from an array of strategies for precision healthcare.  It indicates that Taiwan has the ability to attract international pharmaceutical companies to invest in the personalized healthcare system. It also indicates that Taiwan is a leading player in this field.

【2021-03-08 / Economic Daily】