With the Act for the Development of Biotech and New Pharmaceutical Industry approaching expiration in 2021, the Tsai Administration has set its sights on extending the statute by another decade through an amendment. The statute’s scope will be expanded from its original priorities including new drugs, high-risk medical devices, animal and plant drugs, regenerative medicine and precision medicine to include digital medicine and strategically important biotechnology products in a bid to help foster Taiwan’s next trillion-dollar industry.

The amendment is distinguished by the inclusion of digital medicine and strategically important biotechnology products. Institute for Biotechnology and Medicine Industry (IBMI) President Wong Chi-huey said that the inclusion of digital medicine in the statute will spark new dialogue between the information communication technology and biotechnology sectors to create new products that could become the defining trait that will set apart Taiwan’s biotechnology sector.

In addition, the newly amended statute, with added focus on strategically important biotechnology products, could boost the development of vaccines and new drugs for infectious diseases, as well as helping to boost Taiwan’s participation in future international development projects through incentivization programs. To speed up the amendment, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has begun actively collating opinions and recommendations from leading industry representatives and groups including the IBMI to maximize the amendment’s positive impact on industries.

Reports indicate that the MOEA is aiming to hold public hearings in August and have the Cabinet conduct preliminary review of the amendment in September and October and to submit the bill to the Legislative Yuan in November.

The government is also seeking to extend tax cuts of up to 35 percent of companies’ annual research and development and personnel training expenditures and/or up to 20 percent of amount paid for the subscription of shares in eligible biotechnology firms by both institutional and individual shareholders. Other incentives include deferring taxes for technical shares and for when stock options are exercised, in the hope that these attractive terms will help in growing biotechnology into Taiwan’s next trillion-dollar industry.

[2020-07-08 / Commercial Times]