Taiwan Bio held its annual meeting on the 29th. The President, Johnsee Lee, expressed that this pandemic has a huge impact on the biotech industry; but, thanks to the joint efforts of the government, the industry and the academia, some good news about the R&D of vaccines, drugs and testing reagents have been reported in Taiwan. The biotech industry’s next challenge is to work out a new business model and adapt to a new industrial eco-system in the post-pandemic ear.
Lai Ching-te, the Vice President, mentioned three targets: to promote Taiwan as a strong biotech country, to make the biotech industry the next trillion dollar industry in Taiwan, and to promote the health in Taiwan. He stressed that a strong and sustainable biotech industry could not only protect the nation’s health, but also benefit the world. The government will continue to strengthen relevant policies, covering talents, IP rights, deregulation, regulatory infrastructure, funds, resources, topic selection, etc., with a view to helping the biotech industry to grow globally and become the next trillion dollar industry in Taiwan.
According to the MOEA’s statistics, the biomedical industry in Taiwan had a turnover of NT$559.7 bn in 2019 (up by 8.7%). In 2019, the total investment in the biomedical industry reached NT$55 bn; and 183 biotech companies entered the capital market.
Wang Mei-Hua, the MOEA Minister, pointed out that as of the end of 2019, 7 new drugs developed in Taiwan successfully entered the international markets after receiving foreign marketing authorizations. As for medical devices, Taiwanese companies received a total of 61 US FDA 510(k) certificates in 2019, pitching their high-value innovative devices at the US market. In response to the COVID 19 pandemic, Taiwanese companies are devoted to the development of test reagents, treatment drugs and vaccines, showing the Taiwanese developers’ high R&D capacity in new drugs and new devices.
【2020-09-30/ China Times】
