Singapore, Jul 22. 2009: The eighth BioBusiness Asia conference, a two-day gathering of life science business professionals from around Asia held annually in Taipei, Taiwan, opened Tuesday.
The theme of this year's conference is “Success through Global Alliances," and with the Taiwan government's newly-announced "Diamond Action Plan for Biotech Takeoff," a bold package of government-funded industry development initiatives, this year's event has attracted particular interest from prominent international venture capital firms, including Burrill & Company, Vivo Ventures, Giza Venture Capital, and TVM.
This year the number of companies making presentations at the partnering session on the second day of the conference is up 30 percent over last year, showing the increasing interest from abroad in Taiwan as a country with exceptional advantages when it comes to building business alliances and sourcing research collaborations.
Tuesday's opening ceremony featured remarks by Dr. Johnsee Lee, Chairman of the Conference Organizing Committee and President of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), along with remarks from the Vice President of Taiwan's DOH, Dr. Sung Yen-Jen; Director General, Department of Industrial Technology (DoIT), Ministry of Economic Affairs, Dr. Ming-Ji Wu; the President of Academia Sinica, Dr. Chi-Huey Wong; and the Secretary General of the Science and Technology Advisory Group (STAG), Executive Yuan, Dr. Wan Chi-Chao.
Dr. Lee said, "With biotechnology increasingly a globally-integrated industry, cooperation and communication across borders is key to success in international markets. With the strengthening of internal regulations governing the industry along with strong enforcement of intellectual property, the industry here in Taiwan is well placed to enter into alliances with partners from abroad. And with the government's new "Diamond Action Plan for Biotech Takeoff," fresh opportunities are set to open up in new markets and in emerging sectors such as med-tech. A strengthened life science industry will help enable Taiwan to weather the current global financial storm, to emerge stronger at the other end."
The Secretary General of STAG, Dr. Wan, explained how biotechnology is a major developmental focus of the government, with one of the objectives of the "Diamond Action Plan for Biotech Takeoff" being the creation of a "Mega Fund," to attract both private and government venture capital to fund the next phase of the industry. The "Mega Fund" will be a venture capital fund of $1.76 billion (NT$60 billion), with the government’s "National Development Fund" to take a 40 percent stake, with the remaining 60 percent $1.05 billion (NT$36 billion), to come from the private sector.
Dr. Wan also remarked that the government's ongoing policy creating a network of specialized biotechnology parks and clusters is continuing to drive business and employment, with the value of the industry expected to double within four years. Biotechnology is poised to becoming another "trillion dollar industry," to join Taiwan's semiconductor and flat-panel industries in having annual production values of more than $30 billion (NT$1 trillion).
The theme of this year's event is "Success Through Global Alliances,” a reflection within the industry of the increasing emphasis towards technology transfer and collaboration across borders. With this in mind, the conference organizing committee has invited the former President & CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world's largest generic drug manufacturer, to BioBusiness Asia 2009 to share his experiences and the strategies that made Teva into the pharma powerhouse it is today.
The conference agenda will also feature discussions on trends within the industry, such as green biotechnology new med-tech developments, and strategies to leverage global resources and maximize value. The paths and approaches to entering the China market how to capitalize on opportunities in cross-strait business will also feature.
Executives from prominent companies from both Taiwan and overseas such as OrbiMed, Merch Sharp & Dohme, Taiwan Liposome Company, and others, will be making presentations, sharing their alliance-building experience and expertise with conference participants. The afternoon of the second day of the conference, Wednesday, will feature short business presentation from 24 companies, followed by a session set aside for one-to-one meetings.
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