MOHW launches biomedicine promotion website

2015/07/22

A website introducing Taiwan’s top biotech firms and medical institutions was launched July 20 by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, paving the way for the country to fulfill its potential as a major player in the global biomedicine market.

Taiwan Health Care Plus—initially featuring 30 firms and 42 specialized procedure medical teams—integrates public and private sector resources to assist in product and service promotion abroad, as well as securing business and technology tie-ups with international partners. It is an initiative of Taipei City-based Institute for Biotechnology and Medicine Industry under the auspices of the MOHW.

Premier Mao Chi-kuo said at the launch ceremony that the website is a key plank in a platform of policy measures aiming to address the main hurdle facing the local biomedicine sector: market size. “We boast leading-edge R&D capabilities but are yet to achieve globalization and economy of scale as a result of this issue.

“We have high hopes for the project and are confident it will play an important part in transforming Taiwan’s economy from efficiency-orientated to innovation-driven.”

According to an MOHW official, every effort will be made to build Taiwan’s top biomedicine businesses and research institutions into global brands.

“With commitment and perseverance, it should not be long before homegrown producers of pharmaceuticals and medical materials such as Microbio Co. Ltd., OBI Pharma Inc. and Sinphar Group, as well catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation at Taipei Veterans General Hospital and liver transplantation at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, are known worldwide,” the official added.

As part of the MOHW undertaking, the institute will lead a delegation of featured firms to biomedicine fairs in Japan, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. “It is important we capitalize on the momentum of the website and let major buyers experience the quality of Taiwan’s products and services firsthand,” the official said.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=232826&ctNode=413)