The Taiwan government and a group of investment banks will contribute NT$12 billion (US$348 million) toward a planned pharmaceutical manufacturing plant proposed by US-based Tanox Inc, an investment banker said yesterday.
Tanox chairman and CEO Nancy Chang (唐南珊) said on Monday that her company plans to invest NT$14 billion (US$406 million) in the new plant, which will be built in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (新竹科學園區).
The new firm, Taiwan Biologics Manufacturing Co (TBMC,
Chang said the new venture would operate in a similar manner to that of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC,
NT$12 billion in funding for the Tanox venture will come from loans issued by the government and local banks, according to a local investment banker who requested anonymity.
The Executive Yuan's Development Fund (
Speaking at the opening of the Taiwan Biotechnology Industry Promotion Association on Monday, Chang told the crowd her firm would become a major partner in Taiwan's quest to build a world class biotech industry.
Tanox is a NASDAQ-listed company currently seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an allergy drug that works against hay fever.
The first attempt by the firm to gain approval recently failed and it could take up to a year for the firm to rework and resubmit data to the FDA, according to industry anal-ysts. The drug, however, is expected to eventually gain approval.
The firm partnered with two multinational firms, Genentech and Novartis, on its allergy medication.
The Houston, Texas-based Tanox reported revenues of US$287,000 for the first nine months of this year, compared with US$12.5 million for the same period in 2000, a 97.7 percent drop.
"Until this company has a product making regular sales, you will see income statements like this," said Elizabeth Green Sah, a biotechnology analyst at Primasia Ventures in Taipei.
She said it is common for drug development companies to have such income statements.
When a firm researches a new drug, it is common for it to receive payments from its partners when passing certain milestones in the development path.
In this case, these milestone payments come from Genentech and Novartis, and are the cause of spikes of income and periods of no income.
Sah considers Tanox a good company.
Chang and other Tanox officials announced the new venture during the opening of the Taiwan Biotechnology Industry Promotion Association in Taipei.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Taiwan hopes to make biotechnology a major industry in Taiwan to complement its computer and semiconductor manufacturing industries.
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