TAIWAN BIOMED INDUSTRY EYES $32B

Biomedicine is a top priority for Taiwan, with the government aiming to position the country as the leading hub for biomedical research and development in the Asia-Pacific region. By 2025, Taiwan aims to create 20 new medicines, introduce 80 high-value medical devices to the market, and elevate the biomedicine industry into a trillion-NT-dollar (approximately $32 billion) sector. The government has taken various initiatives, established biomedicines clusters and tweaked policies to achieve this goal. Has the effort paid off? How far has the country come to achieve its goals? Let's find out.

- Ayesha Siddiqui

Taiwan's '5+2' Innovative Industries Plan prioritises biomedicine. The government approved the Biomedical Industry Innovation Program (BIIP) in 2016 to establish Taiwan as the capital of biomedical research and development in the Asia-Pacific region. Taiwan is harnessing its capabilities in the semiconductor and manufacturing sector to propel the biomedicine sector forward. Thanks to favourable policies and various other initiatives, the biomedicine industry is booming. It's worth noting that Taiwan's biomedical industry comprises four major sectors: applied biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare.

In 2021, Taiwan's biomedical industry reached $23.79 billion in revenue, representing a growth of approximately 17.1 per cent from 2020 ($20.32 billion). While healthcare represents the largest subsector in Taiwan's biomedical industry, with revenue of $7.59 billion in 2021, or 31.9 per cent of the total revenue in this industry, medical devices rank 2nd with revenue of $8.43 billion in 2021 or 35.4 per cent of the total revenue, according to the latest report from the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries Promotion Office (BPIPO), MOEA (Ministry of Economic Affairs), Taiwan.

BPIPO is the one-stop service window for Taiwan's biomedical industry. It is designed to assist companies in the biomedical industries worldwide. The assistance provided by BPIPO includes financial support, investment promotion, stock listing, R&D collaboration, technology transfer, commercialization, marketing, strategic alliances, and others. Over the past few years, BPIPO has helped Taiwan's biomedical industry obtain investments of more than $1,500 million per year. It has also helped set up around three innovative companies per year.