Officials focus on biotechnology's potential for growth

2012/03/22 20:03:12  Taipei, March 22 (CNA) The biotechnology sector is one of the six emerging industries that Taiwan plans to actively promote in the future, but the country needs to be selective and specialize in developing products that would help boost the industry's value, Premier Sean Chen said Thursday.   In the face of fierce international competition, the development of Taiwan's biotechnology industry will face a critical period in the next few years, Chen said after hearing report delivered by the National Science Council (NSC) on the future prospects of Taiwan's biopharmaceutical industry.   The global pharmaceutical market is big and Taiwan will be competing against international pharmaceutical companies, said NSC Deputy Minister Chang Chin-fong.   In order to cope, the country should be prepared and consider focusing its efforts on treating diseases common among ethnic Chinese, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, liver and lung cancers, Chang recommended.   According to the council's report, due to the global aging population trend, disease treatment is becoming more focused on preventive medicine and personalized treatments.   The global health industry market is expected to grow to US$4 trillion to US$5 trillion within the next five years, the report stated.   The biopharmaceutical industry alone, which manufactures drugs, medical equipment and health supplements, accounts for half of the global health market, and Asian countries are estimated to account for 30 percent of global production, the NSC said.   The council estimated that Taiwan should be able to take 5 percent of the global market share and generate production value of NT$4.5 trillion (US$151.18 billion).   It is important to find a biopharmaceutical development model suitable for Taiwan, to help the country break past its current global market share of less than 1 percent, the NSC said.   Chen asked Chang to help facilitate collaboration between the NSC and other agencies to take advantage of potential opportunities through the integration of businesses, government and research organizations.   The aim is to improve research quality and applicability and help the government achieve its goal of making biotechnology an important national industry, Chen said