CEO of BioMed Taiwan, Dr. Fong-Chin Su (second from the left), at BBA’s luncheon depicts the measures to promote Taiwan’s biomedical industry, and cultivate Taiwan into an Asia-Pacific biomedical hub. (From left to right: IC Jan, Assistant Chief Executive of Biohub Taiwan of National Biotechnology Research Park; Fong-Chin Su, CEO of BioMed Taiwan and Deputy Minister of Ministry of Science and Technology; Manny Simons, CEO of Akouos, Inc.; Chii-Wann Lin, Vice President of ITRI and General Director of Biomedical Technology and Device Research Laboratories)
CEO of BioMed Taiwan, Dr. Fong-Chin Su, announced the initial achievement of Biomedical Industry Innovation Program, a national plan to accelerate the pace of biomedical industry development of Taiwan. A comprehensive ecosystem has been established with the amendment of law and regulation. For example, the government has promulgated the Act for The Development of Biotech and New Pharmaceuticals Industry. This Act is expected to encourage the investment on innovative products, including new drugs, third class medical devices, and products for emerging biotech sectors, such as regenerated medicine. The amendment of Fundamental Science and Technology Act would pave the way for more efficient technology transfer from the academia cultivating advancement such as precision medicine and digital health. Additionally, enterprises could be part of the integrated biomedical cluster spreading from northern to southern Taiwan for the growth of business.
The innovative biomedical products were well-received in global market recently. Five new drugs developed in Taiwan have obtained approval in major markets such as US, Europe, and Japan. A total of 24 medical device products were received US FDA 510(K) approvals in 2018.
Taiwan has earned global recognition for its capacity of biomedical development with the joint efforts of the industrial, academic and government sectors. The 2017-2018 Global Competitiveness Report of World Economic Forum ranked Taiwan as the 15th country among global 137 nations and the 5th country in Asia-Pacific. Taiwan ranked 14th in the Economic Intelligence Unit’s 2014-2018 Business Environment Rankings. Business Environment Risk Intelligence (BERI) in its first global investment environment risk report in 2018 also ranked Taiwan as the 4thcountry in global market.
International resources are continued to be introduced into Taiwan from global biomedical giants, such as Merck and Janssen. Merck has announced a collaborative training program with ITRI. Meanwhile, Janssen has established a R&D initiative for pharmaceuticals.