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.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
A TAIWAN DEAL: TSMC is in early talks to fully operate Intel’s US semiconductor factories in a deal first raised by Trump officials, but Intel’s interest is uncertain Broadcom Inc has had informal talks with its advisers about making a bid for Intel Corp’s chip-design and marketing business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Nothing has been submitted to Intel and Broadcom could decide not to pursue a deal, according to the Journal. Bloomberg News earlier reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is in early talks for a controlling stake in Intel’s factories at the request of officials at US President Donald Trump’s administration, as the president looks to boost US manufacturing and maintain the country’s leadership in critical technologies. Trump officials raised the
From George Clooney to LeBron James, celebrities in the US have cashed in on tequila’s soaring popularity, but in Mexico, producers of the agave plant used to make the country’s most famous liquor are nursing a nasty hangover. Instead of bringing a long period of prosperity for farmers of the spiky succulent, the tequila boom has created a supply glut that sent agave prices slumping. Mexican tequila exports surged from 224 million liters in 2018 to a record 402 million last year, according to the Tequila Regulatory Council, which oversees qualification for the internationally recognized denomination of origin label. The US, Germany, Spain,
RSS