Taiwan investing in biotech sector

Taiwan is one of the Four Asian Tigers; this little island off the coast of mainland China has experienced rapid development in just a few decades and has become a major hub of manufacturing, high-tech industry, shipping and tourism.

The substantial growth in the country’s industrial sector is evidenced by the fact that 2% of GDP is now generated through the agricultural sector, whereas this figure was closer to 35% in the 1950s.

The growth of Taiwan has been substantial then, but there is one area of the economy that has been singled out and is of national concern, giving rise to a government-led initiative and a major development park in what was formerly a natural habitat of wetlands on the outskirts of Taipei.

The National Biotechnology Development Park in the Nangang District of the capital is a project intended to put Taiwan back on the map in terms of biotechnology research and development. Ten years ago, Taiwan was a major centre of research in this field, according to Wong Chi-huey, president of the Academia Sinica, yet the country has been unable to have any drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the US and the industry has sunk significantly.

Countries like South Korea, which previously bit at the ankles of Taiwan’s biotechnology sector, have now surpassed us. South Korea has developed four drugs which were approved for public sale in the US and is currently ranked 8^th in the world in terms of biotechnology research and development. This is in stark contrast to all other elements of progress made in the country, a level of advancement that is internationally known as the Taiwan Miracle.

Industry leaders and government are now hoping to facilitate another miracle with the development of the National Biotechnology Development Park, a 25 hectare site that Wong hopes will become a hub for investment and advancement in the field of biotechnology research. The park will join a host of similar facilities across the country aimed at specific sectors of the economy. Taiwain is already home to the Tainan Science Park, the Changbin Industrial Park, the Linhai Industrial Park and the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park.

The construction of various industrial and science parks has spurred development as the area essentially operates as an industry-specific free zone, generating investment and employment and bringing together like minds and complimentary business activities that can collaborate on major projects and undertakings. It has worked well in the past and Wong sees no reason for it not to help prop up the under-performing biotech sector.

Wong told Taiwain news media recently that biotechnology is the next frontier for the national economy and that the park would help bridge the gap between the academic and industrial, as the clinical trial experience and expertise and the research foundations are well established, but not the industry itself.

The park itself, upon completion, is expected to generate NT200 million in research funding from the public and private sector, but the construction of the park’s foundation has been delayed due to environmental regulations. The sensitive nature of the site on which the park will be established has prompted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to become heavily involved in the project and a full environmental assessment is to be carried out. Already the Academia Sinica has scaled down the total area the park will occupy.

Delays due to environmental concerns are common in Taiwan, which has a vast and diverse natural landscape and countless sensitive ecosystems, which share the same island with over 20 million people and a level of industrial development unmatched in the modern world.

The Central Taiwan Science Park, another major development project to the south of Taipei, has been delayed due to what the EPA called an insufficient environmental impact assessment. That development is much larger, however, and was built largely on a ‘green field’ site, whereas the National Biotechnology Development Park will primarily occupy a site that was formerly an ammunition production factory, the 202 Munitions Works.

The laying of the foundation is expected to be complete by 2014, while the entire park is slated for completion in 2016.