Taiwan expat biotech experts to set up Supra Incubation Center

06/30/2011 Taiwan Today  The Government Information Office said June 29 that two overseas experts in the biotechnological industry have agreed to participate in the setting up of the Supra Incubation Center. The agreement by Soo Whai-jen and Shaw T. Chen to join SIC will provide a tremendous benefit to the nation's biotech industry, the GIO added. The SIC is a state-sponsored institution whose purpose will be to provide support to the nation's nascent biotech industry. It is slated to become fully operational in 2013. "The SIC is expected to benefit the entire biotech industry by raising R&D funds for the pharmaceutical and medical sector, transferring biomedical technologies, and providing legal and technical consultations," said Minister without Portfolio Cyrus C.Y. Chen. Soo is currently senior vice president of Shire PLC's Human Genetic Therapy division. He previously spent 18 years with Hoffmann La-Roche Inc., where he oversaw clinical trials for the development of new drugs. Chen was a researcher at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and is now deputy director of U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Drug Evaluation. Both Soo and Chen will serve as advisers in the SIC promotion office during its early stages, according to the GIO. "Figuratively, the SIC office in the biotech sector is like the CEO of a corporation, who takes responsibility for integrating resources and looks to lift the sector's competitiveness in the long run," Chu said, adding that he deeply appreciates the willingness of Soo and Chen to join the SIC. In response, Soo said that during his stay at the SIC he will oversee three to four projects related to the development of new drugs and medical equipment. The center's concept was first proposed by Soo in 2006, according to the GIO. In 2009, the Cabinet formally laid out a road map to animate the nation's biotechnology sector, according to which it would enlist the resources of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, Department of Health and National Science Council.