In a meeting of minds in Taipei yesterday, top researchers and officials from around Taiwan called on the government to help focus efforts in its bid to become a biotech powerhouse, instead of squandering resources on overlapping research projects.
"I would say our government does not have many strong strategies for developing biotechnology ... perhaps the government has a lot of meetings, that is true, but I would not say we have produced many strategies...," said Chang Tse Wen (張子文), president of the government's Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB, 生物技術開發中心).
The meeting, dominated by academic and government organizations, emphasized the need for strong leadership to help pool limited research talent and monetary funds. Too many organizations perform the same or similar functions and research topics, and there is a general lack of coordination in these efforts, it was charged.
Evidence seems to bear out these charges. Two government agencies working to develop biotechnology in Taiwan, the Development Center for Biotechnology and the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Investment Programs Office (生
When asked the difference between the two agencies, however, one official scoffed, "That's easy, we do everything and they don't do anything."
According to one industry pundit who requested anonymity, the inability of research institutes and government offices to work together is an epidemic in Taiwan. Agencies compete for attention and funds, rarely share information or research results, and jealously guard contacts with foreign players.
"It's every office for itself out there, nobody works together," he said.
This kind of competition also appears to take place in academic circles. For example, the Academia Sinica's Institute of Molecular Biology (中央研究院) intends to take the lead in developing Taiwan's biotech research and development through a new, state of the art biotech research center slated to open in the second half of the year.
The organization's chief research targets, however, include bioinformatics, electronic gadgets and information systems designed to aid biotechnology development.
But the Hsinchu (新
Sunney Chan (陳
The nation's top research institute plans to recruit talent from overseas.
In the end, members of the group said Taiwan will not build a viable biotechnology sector without greater collaboration and focus on the topic.
The propensity for organizations to work on overlapping or concurrent research is just too great, and it saps research and cash reserves too much for Taiwan to become a strong biotechnology contender in Asia.
Renowned Taiwanese-born AIDS researcher David Ho (何
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