The government is developing strategies to improve the business environment for the biotech industry to make it a second powerhouse after semiconductors and enhance the nation’s prestige, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
Lai made the remarks at the Presidential Office yesterday at a meeting with the heads of award-winning companies from the sector, saying that their success highlights Taiwan’s research and development capabilities, and the sector’s diversity and growth.
The sector was valued at NT$775.4 billion (US$25.6 billion) last year, a historic high, as a result of the hard work of the whole sector, he said.
Photo: Screen grab from the Presidential Office’s Flickr page
Lai also pledged to provide legal support for the industry and enhance its competitiveness.
The COVID-19 pandemic, and the US’ Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and “reciprocal” tariffs have placed significant pressure on the industry, therefore Taiwan should accelerate its pace of development and enhance the sector’s resilience, he said.
Citing the “National Project of Hope,” which includes the biomedicine sector, Lai said the Cabinet’s Bio Taiwan Committee would develop the details on the implementation of biomedicine.
The Human Biobank Management Act (人體生物資料庫管理條例) and the introduction of new review systems for drugs and medical devices are all measures to accelerate the Taiwanese biomedicine sector’s integration into the global market, he said.
The government has been encouraging the industry to use artificial intelligence to establish stable and high-quality supply chains, he said.
After the National Infectious Diseases Bank becomes operational next year, the nation would be able to expand its collaborations with other countries in disease sample preservation and collection, he added.
Lai also urged the private sector to step up its participation in the government’s smart medicine investment project, which has received NT$10 billion in funding from the National Development Fund.
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