‘It’s a knowledge-intensive, time-consuming and unpredictable industry.’
The News Lens
Date: 2016/09/26
By: Mo Tz-pin
Cumbersome regulations are holding back the growth of biotechnology in Taiwan, an industry expert
Photo Credit：shutterstock.com / 達志影像
warns, adding that a suite of reforms proposed by the government could provide the sector with a much-needed boost and set the platform for other emerging technology industries.
The Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration, which came to power on May 20, has listed biotechnology as one of its “five innovative industries” to create jobs and help revitalize the economy. The administration plans to lift the value of the sector’s output from NT$2.16 trillion in 2015 to NT$3 trillion (US$100 billion) by 2020, according to its 2016 Taiwan Bioeconomy Development Program.
Last year Taiwan invested NT$48 billion in the biopharmaceutical industry. The sector reported revenue of NT$300 billion, up 3.5 percent from the previous year, according to data from the Executive Yuan. However, the Taiwan Institute for Biotechnology and Medicine Industry says growth in the local sector has been slow and that Taiwan is falling behind other Asian countries. The annual growth rate of Taiwan’s biopharma sector from 2007 to 2014 was 2.9 percent. During the same period, Singapore’s grew at 6 percent and India 15 percent. The average growth rate for Asia was 4.9 percent. [FULL STORY]