At the 2026 BIO Asia–Taiwan Innovation Forum, government officials, multinational pharmaceutical leaders, and international experts discussed the future of medicine resilience, focusing on supply chain security, pharmaceutical pricing, access to innovative medicines, and clinical trial competitiveness.
Lin Yi-Chu (林意筑), Director of the Division of Medicinal Products at Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (TFDA), described medicines as strategic national assets and introduced Taiwan's four-year National Medicine Resilience Plan, backed by an investment of NT$24 billion. The initiative will shift from reactive shortage management to proactive prevention by strengthening domestic production of critical active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and generic medicines, establishing the Pharmaceutical Intelligent Logistics and Stockpile Center (PILLS Center), enhancing early warning systems, and improving the regulatory framework to reinforce supply chain resilience.
Tina Graves , Chair of the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT), noted that global medicine shortages are driven by geopolitical tensions, supply chain concentration, and pricing pressures, warning that excessively low drug prices can undermine long-term supply security. Drawing on experiences from the United States, Europe, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, she highlighted measures such as early warning systems, strategic stockpiles, joint procurement, and pricing flexibility, emphasizing that supply reliability should become a key consideration alongside cost efficiency.
Anni Varughese, Managing Director of MSD Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, stressed that medicine resilience should extend beyond maintaining the supply of existing medicines to include timely access to innovative therapies and a competitive clinical research environment. She noted that pricing pressure, Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) policies, and supply chain uncertainties could delay new product launches and reduce R&D investment. She called for pricing reform, greater policy predictability, strategic stockpiles, and a stronger clinical trial ecosystem to ensure both supply security and continued pharmaceutical innovation. Speakers concluded that Taiwan should strengthen its pharmaceutical supply chain while fostering an environment that supports innovation and patient access to new medicines.
【2026-07-29/Global Bio】
