Vice President Chen Chien-jen attended the inauguration ceremony of a new Medigen Vaccine Biologics Co. facility Oct. 26 in Zhubei City of northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu County, highlighting Taiwan’s contributions to global health and urging more public and private sector collaboration to bolster the nation’s biotech and pharmaceuticals industry.
“The government has introduced myriad policies to boost the sector’s annual growth rate from the current 6 percent to 9 percent,” Chen said. “Our goal is to produce 20 new drugs, have 80 niche medical devices on overseas markets, and establish 10 biotech and health-related flagship brands by 2025.”
Taiwan is an official member of the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme, a non-binding, informal cooperative arrangement between regulatory authorities of countries around the world in the field of good manufacturing practices (GMP) of medicinal products for human or veterinary use. As such, the country has implemented regulations for drug quality, management systems as well as inspections that are of the highest international standards, reflecting Taiwan’s longstanding devotion to global health, the vice president said.
The biotech and pharmaceuticals industry is one of the five major industries the government aims to bolster as part of a comprehensive program to revitalize Taiwan’s economy. The four other industries targeted for promotion are green energy, national defense, smart machinery and the Internet of Things as well as other smart technologies.
Recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its breakthroughs in vaccinology, this year MVBC has teamed up with the U.S. agency to develop a new dengue fever vaccine that could benefit up to 4 billion people and lead to profits of nearly US$3 billion, the vice president said.
Echoing Chen’s remarks, Stanley Chang, chairman of MVBC’s parent company Medigen Biotechology Corp., said the firm has put great efforts into the research and development of vaccines, aspiring to transfer its state-of-the-art technology to the rest of the world and become an essential player in the prevention and control of infectious diseases.
MBC was founded in 1999 with a focus on developing therapies for liver diseases and cancer. The company has since grown to become a leader in new drug development, molecular diagnostics, vaccines and generic drug production. (SCK-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw