On July 26, the BIO Asia-Taiwan International Conference and Exhibition held a forum on investing into health, where Taiwan’s insufficient healthcare budget caught the focus of international expert speakers.

Hidehito Katsuma, President of the international Research-based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (IRPMA), said that although Taiwan is very competitive in biomedical innovation, it is also facing challenges including intensifying international competition as well as having a limited footprint in the global markets. President Katsuma also said that instead of having the Ministry of Health and Welfare take charge of expanding Taiwan’s health budget, the endeavor should be escalated to the Cabinet, which will strengthen the connections between Taiwan’s health system and biomedical innovation ecosystems and the international community.

Dr. Johnsee Lee, honorary chairman of the Taiwan Bio Industry Organization, said that statistics show that Taiwan’s annual healthcare spending only accounts for 6.1 percent of the GDP, and that due to constrained funding and perennially low reimbursement pricing, the National Health Insurance does not cover many new drugs or advanced genetic screening solutions, which have prevented physicians and patients from accessing the latest health technologies for better treatment outcomes. Other experts emphasized that lingering gaps between Taiwan’s clinical practices and international standards will continue affect Taiwan’s ability match the international community in terms of professional knowledge, experience, talent pool and regulations, resulting in the inability to participate in large-scale global data analytic projects. In addition, stringent reimbursement requirements will also continue to impede Taiwan’s bids to participate in multinational clinical trials for new drugs.

[2023-7-26/Economic Daily News]