The Legislative Yuan approved the first reading of an amendment to a WTO agreement yesterday, which will allow Taiwanese pharmaceutical companies to make cheaper generic drugs for underdeveloped countries to combat fatal diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and bird flu.
The WTO initiative, called Protocol Amending the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), will make it easier for poorer countries to import cheaper generic drugs made under compulsory licensing if they are unable to manufacture the medicines themselves.
The amendment to TRIPS Article 31 regarding compulsory licensing, which was approved by WTO member states in August 2005, authorizes pharmaceutical companies in WTO countries, if requested, to manufacture and export cheaper generic drugs to least developed countries, without having to pay the patent holders.
“Following the Cabinet’s approval of this amendment last month, the final approval from lawmakers will allow the government to report Taiwan’s TRIPS acceptance to the WTO Secretariat through Taiwan’s mission to WTO in Geneva,” said Wang Mei-hua (王美花), director-general of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
The WTO’s General Council has asked all member nations to obtain approval from their own lawmakers and to notify it no later than Dec. 31 next year. Once two-thirds of members have formally accepted it, the amendment will take effect in those states.
The IPO head said that final approval of the amendment could be settled in about two months.
“At present, 15 of the 151 WTO member states have notified the WTO of their acceptance, including the US, the EU, Japan, China, Australia and South Korea,” she said.
Wang said Taiwan will also have to revise its patent regulations to accommodate the new TRIPS regulations.
“The bureau has drafted a revision of the patent statute, which will also be reviewed by the legislature at some point,” she said.
Wang said that once the legal grounds for the amendment are established, Taiwan would be able to contribute more to the international community, particularly to poor countries that have little or no technological or financial ability to offer advanced medical treatment.
“With its advanced pharmaceutical ability, Taiwan could offer assistance especially to its 23 diplomatic alliances, most of which are underdeveloped countries,” she said.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
RSS