Total revenues for the Taiwanese pharmaceutical and biotech industry have more than doubled between 2004 and 2012, to USD 8.88 billion. The national pipeline for new drugs looks extremely promising, even by international standards: 17 compounds in Phase I, 73 in Phase II and III, and 6 at the NDA stage, as of April 2013. Meanwhile, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), a preferential trade pact between China and Taiwan signed in 2010, has lowered trade barriers and opened the door for broader collaboration with a country that IMS estimates will become the world’s second largest pharma market by 2015. This comprehensive free report examines the facts and opinions behind the political and business decisions currently shaping the market.
The head of Taiwan’s Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB) and the Taiwan Bio Industry Organization (TBIO), Dr. Johnsee Lee, interviewed as part of this free report, explains the work that the government has done to create the right environment for pharma and biotech companies to flourish in Taiwan:
“Over the last 10 to 15 years, the state has invested very heavily in research, channeled through the universities, hospitals, institutes like Academia Sinica, DCB, and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and industry.In the National R&D Program for Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals alone, approximately USD 100 million in funding is allocated every year from 2011-2016—and there are quite a few programs ongoing simultaneously. The investment over time is very substantial.”
Today, Taiwan has 450 companies in the applied biotech segment, 350 companies in the pharmaceutical segment and 705 medical devices companies. Investors are looking at Taiwan with increasing interest. Added to this is the country’s world-leading healthcare system: Taiwan is a reimbursed market with a single-payer framework covering 99.8 percent of the population. GDP spent on healthcare, meanwhile, is only about 6.6 percent, according to the country’s Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Written after exclusive interviews with the country’s leading decision makers, from local and multinational companies, manufacturers, distributors, experts, legislators, this is a unique resource for those looking beyond figures.
Featuring:
– An IPO case study: Medigen
– Time to celebrate for Taiwan Inc?
– Interview: Dr Johnsee Lee, Chairman, President, Taiwan Bio Industry Association
– Interview: Jo Shen, Chairman & CEO, Scinopharm
