Germany-based Lohmann Animal Health GmbH has committed to establishing its vaccine production and R&D capabilities in Taiwan, according to the ROC Council of Agriculture July 8.
The company is planning a state-of-the-art vaccine production facility in Pingtung County, and also inked a memorandum of understanding on R&D collaboration with the COA’s Animal Health Research Institute.
“This partnership is a milestone in Taiwan’s biotechnology industry,” COA Minister Chen Bao-ji said at the memorandum signing ceremony in Taipei City. “It will also boost bilateral collaboration and exchanges in R&D, talent training and vaccine production.”
According to Chen, animal vaccine production is one of the sectors set for strategic promotion inside Taiwan’s planned free economic zones. “Lohmann’s business decisions will inspire more global firms to follow suit and are a strong vote of confidence in the country’s R&D credentials.”
Set to occupy 3 hectares in Southern Taiwan’s Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park, the NT$1 billion (US$33.3 million) facility is the first planned by a foreign vaccine-maker. It will produce vaccines using local know-how for export to Asia, and eventually be expanded to include an R&D center.
Lohmann Managing Director Bruno Kaesler cited Taiwan’s exceptional vaccine research capabilities as one of the reasons for his company’s decision to expand its presence in Taiwan.
Kaesler also expects the Pingtung facility to serve as a key platform for commercializing the company’s biotech innovations for the global market.
Lohmann’s Taiwan operations are forecast to lift its share of the Asia-Pacific poultry vaccination market to 35 percent, with export values estimated at NT$2.5 billion a year, according to the COA. (SFC-JSM)
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