From researchers to executives, people in the biotechnology industry are always thinking about raising more capital to help fund the endless research and development needed to make technological breakthroughs.
But the sector may have to pay more attention on marketing and branding if it wants to stand out from competitors in the global arena, the head of the semi-official Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) said yesterday at a marketing forum in Taipei.
"Anything that remains local will lose the potential for development," ITRI president Johnsee Lee (李鍾熙) said. "But marketing and networking with international alliances will strengthen our biotech industry."
The forum on marketing for Asian life-science companies was held by BiotechEast Co (東方生技), a Taipei-based public relations and marketing consultancy specializing in the biotech industry.
The firm also signed an agreement with Frost & Sullivan yesterday, making it the sole agent in this country for the New York-based, high-tech market consultancy.
"Taiwan must improve its collaborative efforts with the global life-science community through increased attention to marketing, promotion and networking abroad," BiotechEast president David Silver said.
Marketing and branding is critical to the nation's biotech industry, given the keen competition from regional rivals such as South Korea and Singapore, he said.
Silver said South Korea emphasized its international presence by setting up research units in other countries including the UK, China and Israel in recent years. It also established "Korea BioValley" last year in San Diego, California, the hub of biotechnology, he said.
Singapore places a strong emphasis on overseas promotions, keeps a high profile in international media such as CNN and seeks out international companies for foreign talent, such as ES Cell International, an Australian company that recruited Alan Colman, who became famous for cloning the sheep "Dolly" in 1997.
Taiwan's biotech industry, however, doesn't have enough information available for the international community for those seeking collaboration or investment, said Chen Chei-hsiang (陳啟祥), director of the Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Industries Program Office (BPIPO) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
"We are considering helping the industry promote itself to the world to enhance global visibility," Chen said.
In 2002, the government announced it would promote the biotech industry for the next 10 years, making it one of the key sectors in the "2 Trillion, Twin Star" investment plan. Annual revenues in the industry rose 13 percent to NT$125.6 billion last year from NT$110.9 billion in 2002, according to figures provided by BPIPO.
The government plans to pour NT$150 billion into the sector by 2006, hoping to boost annual revenue to NT$250 billion by 2006.
"The Taiwanese biotech industry has great advantages in terms of government support, strong technological background and robust financial environment to acquire capital," said Aditya Sapru, Frost & Sullivan's director of biotech life science practice in the Asia-Pacific region.
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