The government is making a new push into the biotechnology sector by investing in a company that will focus on the development of a drug for treating AIDS.
The state-owned National Development Fund (NDF) will pump in US$20 million to help establish a biotech firm to be called TaiMed Biologics, Council for Economic Planning and Development Chairwoman Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) told a press conference yesterday.
The move is one of a package of government measures designed to turn the nation's biotech industry into a trillion-dollar sector, following in the footsteps of the foundry and display industries.
PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Of the NT$30 billion (US$907 million) budget the government plans to invest in the biotech sector, the state fund has directly invested NT$8 billion in 12 biotech companies, Ho said, adding that the government could pump in more capital to fuel the industry's growth even after the budget is expended.
The new biotech company will be chaired by former vice premier Tsai Ying-wen (
David Ho told the press conference that, although it was impossible to know whether the NDF would see significant returns from its investment in TaiMed Biologics, this kind of investment is needed to stimulate the industry.
TaiMed Biologics purchased the patent for the drug TNX-355, which was developed by US-based Genentech Inc, and plans to complete development of the drug, which blocks HIV from entering human cells, in three years.
After launching TNX-355 on the global market, TaiMed Biologics will devote itself to developing flu and bird flu vaccines, he said.
If TaiMed Biologics later establishes a plant to manufacture drugs or other medical products, the NDF would also finance that, Ho Mei-yueh said.
Inviting private enterprises to jointly invest in TaiMed Biologics, the CEPD chairwoman said she had a shortlist of possible investors and would first approach Terry Gou (郭台銘), chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密).
On Sept. 4, Gou announced he would donate NT$15 billion to National Taiwan University to fund biomedical engineering projects and the construction of a hospital for treating cancer.
In June, Gou, who leads the world's largest contract maker of electronic components, reportedly said he would donate NT$100 billion to fund cancer research by scientists in Taiwan and China.
"I will brief him [to try to win] his support for the company [TaiMed Biologics]," Ho Mei-yueh said.
To encourage development of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, the legislature in June passed tthe Biotech and New Pharmaceutical Development Statute (
The new law stipulates that 35 percent of company investment in R&D and personnel training in the two sectors is tax-deductible for the next five years.
If a firm's expenditure on R&D and personnel exceeds its average spending in the previous two years, 50 percent of the extra amount is tax-deductible.
In addition, employees in the industries who receive stock options do not need to pay income tax on their shares.
Government researchers who get permission from the institute where they are employed can also cooperate with private companies to develop new drugs, while researchers can work as consultants at private companies.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS