“I believe Taiwan will have an important role to play in connecting [research] and technology,” said Dr. Raju Kucherlapati, Genetics Department, Harvard Medical School, Center for Genetics and Genomics, from the outset.

“It is an emerging market,” he added.

Kucherlapati anticipated that if healthcare authorities increasingly rely on individuals’ genetic information, physicians will need the necessary IT tools to analyze and store millions of DNA samples, including software and hardware.

Given Taiwan’s strong Information Technology (IT) sector, he pointed that the country is poised to swiftly jump on the biotech bandwagon.

Dr. Axel Polack, General Manager of TVM Capital, agreed that there is “a clear opportunity in the value chain” for Taiwanese companies, but cautioned the government about immediately opening biotech-dedicated Science Parks all across the island.

Taiwan should “focus in areas where a nucleus is already present,” he said.

In order to succeed, Polack suggested that academic institutions link together with clinical strengths in various areas of expertise.

Accordingly, David Bernstein, vice president, pharmaceutical Sciences and Regulatory Compliance, Bernstein CMC Regulatory Consulting, hinted at investing in a Chemistry, Manufacturing & Controls (CMC) compliance facility in Taiwan.

“The contract facility,” staffed with local scientists, would help small biotech firms streamline their focus and development, he went on.

As nine out of ten compounds fail during the phase I or II clinical trial, Bernstein noted that investing in a “center of excellence” would make local biotech companies more capable of manufacturing the kind of compound that would add to the value chain.

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