The government is making a new push into the biotechnology sector by investing in a company that will focus on the development of a drug for treating AIDS.
The state-owned National Development Fund (NDF) will pump in US$20 million to help establish a biotech firm to be called TaiMed Biologics, Council for Economic Planning and Development Chairwoman Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) told a press conference yesterday.
The move is one of a package of government measures designed to turn the nation's biotech industry into a trillion-dollar sector, following in the footsteps of the foundry and display industries.
PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Of the NT$30 billion (US$907 million) budget the government plans to invest in the biotech sector, the state fund has directly invested NT$8 billion in 12 biotech companies, Ho said, adding that the government could pump in more capital to fuel the industry's growth even after the budget is expended.
The new biotech company will be chaired by former vice premier Tsai Ying-wen (
David Ho told the press conference that, although it was impossible to know whether the NDF would see significant returns from its investment in TaiMed Biologics, this kind of investment is needed to stimulate the industry.
TaiMed Biologics purchased the patent for the drug TNX-355, which was developed by US-based Genentech Inc, and plans to complete development of the drug, which blocks HIV from entering human cells, in three years.
After launching TNX-355 on the global market, TaiMed Biologics will devote itself to developing flu and bird flu vaccines, he said.
If TaiMed Biologics later establishes a plant to manufacture drugs or other medical products, the NDF would also finance that, Ho Mei-yueh said.
Inviting private enterprises to jointly invest in TaiMed Biologics, the CEPD chairwoman said she had a shortlist of possible investors and would first approach Terry Gou (郭台銘), chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密).
On Sept. 4, Gou announced he would donate NT$15 billion to National Taiwan University to fund biomedical engineering projects and the construction of a hospital for treating cancer.
In June, Gou, who leads the world's largest contract maker of electronic components, reportedly said he would donate NT$100 billion to fund cancer research by scientists in Taiwan and China.
"I will brief him [to try to win] his support for the company [TaiMed Biologics]," Ho Mei-yueh said.
To encourage development of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, the legislature in June passed tthe Biotech and New Pharmaceutical Development Statute (
The new law stipulates that 35 percent of company investment in R&D and personnel training in the two sectors is tax-deductible for the next five years.
If a firm's expenditure on R&D and personnel exceeds its average spending in the previous two years, 50 percent of the extra amount is tax-deductible.
In addition, employees in the industries who receive stock options do not need to pay income tax on their shares.
Government researchers who get permission from the institute where they are employed can also cooperate with private companies to develop new drugs, while researchers can work as consultants at private companies.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
RSS