AstraZeneca PLC yesterday announced that it would invest an additional NT$1 billion (US$32.6 million) in Taiwan over the next three years as it gears up to launch 10 new medicines by 2021.
The investment would help the company strengthen its bond with Taiwan, create 140 high-quality scientific jobs and increase its local workforce to 430, the company said.
The expansion would also support an additional 1,000 jobs through contract manufacturing, AstraZeneca Taiwan Ltd general manager Simon Manners told a news conference in Taipei.
The investment would raise the company’s average annual clinical research budget in Taiwan nearly threefold from NT$230 million to more than NT$600 million by 2021.
The company has also inked a letter of intent with BioHub Taiwan to collaborate with the biotechnology start-up incubator in the National Biotechnology Research Park in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港).
AstraZeneca would also collaborate with the Program for Translational Innovation of Biopharmaceutical Development-Technology Supporting Platform Axis, a program led by the science, economic and health ministries to accelerate the commercialization of technologies through effective integration of resources and infrastructure.
In the past five years, the company has invested more than NT$1.4 billion in clinical studies in Taiwan to develop medicines that suit the local genetic profile and treat the leading causes of death.
The company ranks first among its global peers in clinical trials on lung cancer, which has a disproportionately high occurrence rate in Taiwan.
These collaborations represent the company’s commitment to Taiwanese and would support the development of innovative solutions to healthcare challenges, Manners said.
It would also cultivate local talent and raise Taiwan’s profile as a biomedical development hub, he added.
The nation’s exemplary National Health Insurance (NHI) system and its healthcare infrastructure make it the ideal destination to conduct clinical studies and scientific research, medical international vice president Alexander Bedenkov said.
Apart from drug development, the company has initiated two healthcare delivery partnerships with local experts and start-ups to support the nation’s estimated 2 million asthma and 2 million diabetes patients.
“The partnerships we have initiated, such as Healthy Lung and Early Action in Diabetes, aim to improve and prolong patients’ lives and reduce healthcare expenditure,” Asia area president Joris Silon said.
While the Food and Drug Administration’s drug approval process has been efficient in granting priority review to three out of the 10 medicines set to be launched by 2021, the company hopes that its conversations with the government on NHI reimbursement could proceed at a faster pace, Manners said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR: Revenue from AI servers made up more than 50 percent of Wistron’s total server revenue in the second quarter, the company said Wistron Corp (緯創) on Tuesday reported a 135.6 percent year-on-year surge in revenue for last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with the momentum expected to extend into the third quarter. Revenue last month reached NT$209.18 billion (US$7.2 billion), a record high for June, bringing second-quarter revenue to NT$551.29 billion, a 129.47 percent annual increase, the company said. Revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$897.77 billion, up 87.36 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for the period, it said. The company remains cautiously optimistic about AI server shipments in the third quarter,
RSS