“Taiwan has long since viewed biotechnology as a high-priority development sector and is determined to develop itself into a major global biotech hub,” Vice President Chen Chien-jen said at the opening of the expo. “The Act for the Development of Biotech and New Pharmaceuticals Industry enacted in 2007 and the National Research Program for Biopharmaceuticals initiated in 2011 have helped attract talent and resources to the industry.”
Celebrating its 15th edition this year, the five-day expo features several main events including the BioBusiness Asia Conference, BioTaiwan Exhibition, one-on-one partnering, the Greater China Opportunities Conference, and seminars and workshops at one convenient location. The event is organized annually by Taiwan Bio Industry Organization based in Taipei.
Among the various innovations displayed at BioTaiwan 2016 is the drug Onivyde engineered for the treatment of metastasis pancreatic patients. Produced by Taipei City-based PharmaEngine, Inc., the drug was approved by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October last year.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of 27 world-class cancer centers in the U.S., included Onivyde in its 2016 Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for pancreatic adenocarcinoma in March. In addition, PharmaEngine received a licensing payment of US$220 million from U.S.-based Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2011, with the two companies working together to complete the drug’s application for worldwide approval.
Another highlight of the exhibition is the world’s first and only subunit vaccine against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, a common infection in pigs. Subunit vaccines only utilize the parts of a virus that cause disease. The vaccine is produced by Taipei City-based Reber Genetics Co. through genetic engineering and immunotherapy technology developed and transferred by the Agricultural Technology Research Institute under the Council of Agriculture.
According to Reber, the vaccine has been proven safe and effective in enhancing pigs’ immunity and combating the PRRS virus. The product is patented in Australia, Canada, the U.S. and European Union, and has been sold in Taiwan, Russia and the Philippines.
President Tsai Ing-wen has listed the biotech and pharmaceutical industry as one of the nation’s five major industrial development objectives and has crafted a plan to transform Taiwan into the center of biotechnology and medical R&D in Asia.
Aggregate sales in Taiwan’s biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device industries amounted to NT$300 billion (US$9.2 billion) in 2015, up 3.5 percent over 2014, the vice president said. Meanwhile, private-sector investment in the local biotech sector achieved NT$48 billion in 2015, posting annual growth of 6 percent. (KH-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw