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Pingtung eyeing Asia's animal vaccine market

With an eye on Asia's vast market, Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park is working hard to attract a European vaccine maker to set up operations in the park in a bid to make Taiwan a regional vaccine hub.

The nation's only agricultural biotech park was completed in 2007. Under the park's plan, 10 major biotech industries are expected to enter in three stages, Chen Chien-bin (陳建斌), director of the park administration, said on Friday.

To date, the park administration has approved 59 applications to set up operations. Fourteen are already operational, and six to seven have leased land for construction of their factories, Chen said.

The second phase involves 32 companies, which are building their factory facilities. Most of the companies are Chinese herbal medicine and organic products manufacturers that have the potential of producing NT$3 billion (US$87.2 million) in annual revenues, making it the largest industry in the park.

The third phase involves two animal vaccine manufacturers. One is HealthBaby Biotech, a subsidiary of Taiwan's largest blood bank company, HealthBanks Biotech, which began factory construction last week.

The other is a veterinary vaccine company in Germany that is still studying the feasibility of entering a joint venture with a local enterprise to operate in the park. Both sides will each invest NT$2.5 billion in the joint venture if the deal is hammered out, Chen said.

The park administration was optimistic that the joint venture would be set up in the park this year.

Once construction of HealthBaby plant is completed at the end of next year, Chen said the company could create NT$1.5 billion in annual export revenue, compared with an annual output of NT$500 million to NT$600 million generated by seven local animal vaccine firms, and between NT$30 million and NT$40 million in exports.

Taiwan's annual animal vaccine demand is estimated at NT$1.5 billion to NT$1.6 billion, with imports accounting for about NT$1 billion.

While the biotech industry offers huge potential for development given the growing demand for animal vaccines in Southeast Asia, it costs up to NT$100 million to build a factory, Chen said.

The administration is therefore working to attract international companies to set up operations in the park and create joint business opportunities, Chen said.

Taiwan, with its rich pool of research and development talent, has attracted the interest of many foreign companies, which are studying the feasibility of setting up factories in the country, Chen said.

If an animal vaccine hub focusing on the Asian market were established in Taiwan, it could create more than NT$2 billion in export value in five years and boost the development of peripheral industries, Chen said.
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