San Diego's push to encourage investments in biotech began 15 years ago, when only one biotech company graced the Yellow Pages of San Diego County. Today, the area boasts 216 biotech companies and 161 medical device companies.
"Taiwan can learn from the San Diego experience," said William Hung (
San Diego's biotech industry employs 32,000 people with a total payroll of US$2 billion (NT$68 billion), and an average wage-per-worker of US$65,000 each year. These numbers may be the envy of officials in Taiwan as unemployment has recently risen to 4.22 percent -- a 20 year high.
Hung said tax breaks, low cost land in science parks and other incentives helped build San Diego's biotech industry.
Although these perks are important, the economics ministry's Liao pointed out the necessity of strong research and development.
"Just learning how people build laboratories is not that important. For a country that wants to build a biotech industry, the most important part is R&D," Liao said.
Biotech firms might grow faster with tax incentives and science parks, but in the end, "you've got to show them the meat -- proven technology," she said.
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