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Carving out key role in the bio-tech industry

`Taiwan ... only has to take one wrong step and it could end up being a marginal player in the global pharmaceutical and bio-tech services market.'

National Taiwan University recently decided to establish a biomedical science park, with six specialized research centers, in Hsinchu. This project is directed at developing commercially viable treatments for chronic diseases. In a world of international commerce and the global spread of infectious diseases, this project seems out of touch with the reality of both the commercial and health situation at the present time.

Looking at how other nations are developing their health-care industry, we should realize that membership of the World Health Organization is of the greatest importance, for such an organization plays a significant role in global disease control and prevention programs. New industries seeking to become integrated in the international public health arena all focus on matters relating to the prevention of infectious diseases.

At the recent 58th World Health Assembly, many important resolutions had to do with infectious diseases, such as the control of malaria, articles relating to international health and prevention of a global pandemic.

Another important organization in the area of global prevention of infectious diseases is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

This foundation has raised US$450 million, and has, as of June, been providing funding to research teams from nine nations to make breakthroughs in a number of technologies with the potential to achieve global health goals. These include the Child Vaccine Program for the development of vaccines that do not require refrigeration or needles for administration, the development of gene or chemical agents to reduce or prevent bacteria propagation and 14 other major projects related to technologies for the treating of infectious diseases.

Taiwan's health industry must have a clear focus. If it wishes to follow the international mainstream in the areas of commerce and health care, then it should shift its focus toward infectious diseases.

If it wishes to continue to develop the industry for chronic disease treatment, then Taiwan must make a clear assessment of whether it has sufficient financial resources, a sufficiently advanced pharmaceutical industry, manufacturing capability and intellectual property rights protection to allow it to become a bio-tech power like Japan or Singapore.

Taiwan does not have a big share of the world pharmaceuticals market, and it only has to take one wrong step and it could end up being a marginal player in the global pharmaceuticals and bio-tech services market, or even as a dumping ground for second-rate products.

We must exercise the greatest possible care over the direction the Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park takes and how we define Taiwan's role in the global bio-tech market.

Chan Chang-chuan is the director of the Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene at National Taiwan University.

Translated by Daniel Cheng and Ian Bartholomew
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