Burrill & Co. leveraging Taiwan as a springboard

Burrill & Co. Pledges US$30M. Investment in Taiwan`s Biotech Industry 2011/05/31 Taipei, (CENS)--Minister Christina Liu of the Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) recently convinced life-sciences merchant bank Burrill & Co. to invest US$30 million in Taiwan`s biotech industry during her visit to the United States as leader of a Taiwanese delegation. Burrill & Co. focuses exclusively on companies involved in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, devices, human healthcare and related medical technologies, nutraceuticals and wellness, agricultural biotechnology, and industrial biotechnology with over US$950 million under management. The investment bank is using Taiwan as its springboard into mainland China and Japan. So far, its invested businesses in Taiwan include Taiwan Liposome Co., a biopharmaceutical manufacturer strong in lipid-based formulation and parenteral drugs using micelles and nanoparticles. Liu led the trade mission composed of around 100 executives from five industries, including computer software, surveillance technology related to construction structures and land development, to solicit American investments in Taiwan. The biotech group of the delegation also visited Impax Laboratories Inc., which has introduced over 40 generic drugs and is known for its achievement in Parkinson`s disease medication. In Taiwan, it has invested around US$110 million in its branch. Computer software group visited Oracle, whose corporate data bank equipment and cloud-computing solutions can help Taiwan`s ICT industry generate higher value. Acellent is among the companies visited by the delegation`s security-surveillance interest group visited. The National Science Council (NSC) of Taiwan`s Executive Yuan will set up an office to deal with Acellent`s investment plan in Taiwan. The delegation`s land-development interest group visited the San Francisco City Hall to see how the city hall cooperates with the private sector, hospitals and academic institutions to develop the Mission Bay Biotechnology Park on government-owned real estate.