Two Taiwanese biotechnology companies yesterday announced that they would set up a joint mask production line in the Philippines, in the first phase of an agreement to produce personal protective equipment amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mytrex Health Technologies Inc (敏成) said in a statement that it has signed an agreement to build a production line at a factory in the Philippines owned by Medtecs International Corp (美德醫療), a major supplier of healthcare products headquartered in Taipei.
Under the partnership, Mytrex said it would make meltblown nonwoven fabric for use as filtration material in surgical masks produced by Medtecs.
Photo: CNA
The production of masks would be the first step in a partnership by the two companies to supply personal protective equipment during the pandemic, Mytrex said, adding that production would begin in the first quarter of next year.
Mytrex and Medtecs are optimistic about their business outlook, as many countries have been working to expand personal protective equipment production capacity since the pandemic broke early this year, the statement said.
The companies are looking to break into other overseas markets besides the Philippines, using their advantage in biotech development and pooling their resources to build a personal protective equipment supply chain, it said.
They would work together to roll out personal protective equipment in Taiwan, the US and other countries amid high demand, as COVID-19 shows no signs of abating, Mytrex said.
Medtecs has production bases in the Philippines, China and Cambodia, and Mytrex runs factories in Taoyuan.
Mytrex shares have been listed on Taiwan’s Emerging Stock Board since August 2011, while Medtecs launched Taiwan depositary receipts in December 2002 after an initial public offering on the Singapore Exchange in 1999.
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