Taiwan has set its sights on becoming a regional hub for biotechnology innovation and commercialization in Asia. With strong government backing, a skilled talent pool, and key infrastructure investments, the island is making strides towards this vision.
In 2021, Taiwan’s biomedical industry, comprising biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare services, generated impressive revenues of NT$666.5 billion. This represents close to 10.9% growth from the previous year. The biotechnology segment specifically accounted for NT$514.1 billion in 2018, a 5.5% increase.
Several factors are propelling Taiwan’s ascent in biotech. The government has implemented the Biomedical Industry Innovation Program (BIIP), which provides companies funding support for R&D and facilitates access to resources. Tax incentives for IP also encourage biotech research.
Strategic initiatives like the National Biotechnology Research Park and Taiwan Bio-Medical Data Commons are fostering collaboration between industry and academia. Regulatory reforms are also helping bring innovative products to market faster.
Precision medicine is an area of focus, with over US$1 billion invested recently in genomics and molecular diagnostics capabilities. Partnerships with global pharmas like Roche, Merck and Pfizer reinforce Taiwan’s progress in personalized therapeutics.
As a major ICT hardware producer, Taiwan leverages its strengths in semiconductors, sensors and imaging to develop smart medical devices and digital health tools. Several medtech clusters provide the infrastructure for such cross-disciplinary innovation.
For international life science companies, Taiwan offers an attractive destination for R&D and manufacturing, thanks to its strong IP protections, talent pool and operating costs competitive with neighbors. Its central location also provides easy access to major APAC markets.
With continued backing from policymakers and steady inflows of foreign investment, Taiwan seems on course to meet its ambition as Asia’s next biotech hotspot.
