The Board of Science and Technology (BOST) of the Executive Yuan announced that this year’s BioTaiwan Committee (BTC) meeting is to take place from September 3 to 5.  The discussion will focus on the ecology of the emerging technology derived from cross-sector collaboration.

The theme of this year’s BTC meeting is: “Focus on New Biomedical Knowledge to Create New Industrial Structure”.  The agenda will include 5 major topics covering the industrial trends, innovation, talent cultivation, regulatory environment and the strategies for encouraging inward investment.   Stakeholders’ suggestions will be collected and used as references for the development of the biomedical industry.

Last year’s suggestions are still waiting in the legislative pipeline

Last year’s BTC meeting put forward 7 key suggestions, including the modernization of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the Medical Care Act and the establishment of an Act especially for medical devices.  However, the draft amendments are still in the Legislative Yuan, waiting to be reviewed.  Not to mention that the CDE is yet to become an administrative institution.

In the 2018 BTC Meeting, Dr Chang Hong-Jen, a BTC member, concluded 7 key suggestions: to integrate bio banks, to establish an ecological chain for the industry, to stimulate inward investment and business merger, to cultivate talents and to attract international professionals into Taiwan.  Dr Chang stressed that Taiwan should refer to the practices in other countries, and accelerate the amendment of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the Medical Care Act, as well as the establishment of the Medical Device Act.

Also, the draft of the “National Drug Evaluation Center Establishment Act”, which was approved by the Executive Yuan in February 2017, is now in the Legislative Yuan, waiting to be reviewed. The BOST expressed that efforts will be made to persuade the Legislative Yuan to prioritize the review of the law amendments already waiting in the pipeline.

However, there are some progresses in the integration of bio banks.  According to the BOST, the Executive Yuan has given instructions to all relevant departments and agencies to study policies and measures in this area.

【2019-08-26/ Economic Daily】