One of the main figures behind the founding of Yu Chang Biologics, Patrick Yang (楊育民), said he believes the company has always been irreproachable in its intentions, adding that nobody was initially willing to take on the role as chairperson and it was filled by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) only after she was persuaded to take it.
According to Yang, the reason the company has become so embroiled in election politics is because someone wants to make an issue out of it.
The mission of the company, from the outset, has been to promote the Taiwanese biotech industry, he said, adding it was never just about individuals making money.
Yang said the reason the Taiwanese team won the bid to cooperate with US firm Genentech for the development of a new AIDS drug was because of the standing of Academia Sinica president Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠) and world-renowned AIDS drug expert David Ho (何大一) in the biotech field, as well as scientist Chen Lan-bo (陳良博).
Regarding the classification of Yu Chang documents, Yang pointed out the importance of confidentiality in the commercial environment and that even now he is obliged not to reveal the conditions of the initial talks with Genentech.
Chen Yuan-tsong (陳垣崇), a top researcher at Academia Sinica, said that confidentiality was crucial for international cooperation in the biotech field and expressed concern over the prospects of biotech companies willing to work with Taiwanese companies in view of the current furor involving Yu Chang.
Ho, one of three scientists hired by the National Development Fund as a board member and the joint venture’s shareholding representative on Sept. 5, 2007, was quoted in a 2007 interview with CommonWealth Magazine as touting the importance of the leadership qualities of the people at the head of a company, adding that Tsai had these qualities.
He was also quoted as saying that the significance of the drugs manufactured by Yu Chang would go beyond the commercial level and, being accredited by the US Food and Drug Administration, would have implications for Taiwan’s international standing.
Few countries outside the US, Europe and Japan are capable of marketing clinical-grade pharmaceuticals worldwide.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
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US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to