Chairman Lin of the Industrial Technology Research Institute; Chairman Wu of the Development Center for Biotechnology; Chairperson Ho of the Council for Economic Planning and Development; Minister Lin; ITRI President Lee; DCB President Wu; Distinguished Guests from Home and Abroad; Esteemed Academics and Experts; Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good Morning to you all!
I am very pleased and honored to have been invited to attend the opening ceremony of the 2007 BioBusiness Asia Conference (BBA). Since BBA was first held in 2002, it has become one of the most influential biotech conferences in the Asia Pacific region.
On behalf of the government and the 23 million people of Taiwan, I would like to first extend a heartfelt welcome to all distinguished guests and professionals from home and abroad. I hope that this event will enhance our mutual exchanges, and that, in line with the theme of this conference "From Biotech Innovation to Business Boost," Taiwan can become a new center of leading biopharmaceutical enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region.
Biotechnology is the star industry of the 21st century. Biotechnological innovations are closely linked to people's lives and have significantly improved medical care, the environment, food production, and the quality of life. Moreover, governments of countries around the world are highly aware of the commercial value of such innovations, and have taken steps to promote the biotech sector as a key industry.
Although the biotech industry took off later in Asia than in North American and European countries, the efforts of recent years have begun turning the region into a major player in the growing biotechnology market.
Taiwan is home to flexible and innovative network of small and medium-sized enterprises. It has a thriving science and technology sector, a high-quality medical care system, and is geographically positioned at the heart of the Asia-Pacific market. All of these factors are highly conducive to Taiwan's becoming a key player in the global biotechnology community.
In light of this, we have designated the biotech sector as the key industry in the government's "Two Trillion and Twin Star" program under the "Challenge 2008 National Development Plan." We hope that this move will speed up the development of Taiwan's biotech industry and improve our people's health and well-being.
Over the past few years, our government has also promoted the Biomedical Technology Island Plan to establish Taiwan as a major hub for genomic medical research and a center for clinical trials in Asia, in the hope that Taiwan's strengths in electronics manufacturing, information technology, and clinical research will further raise our performance in biomedical technology and clinical trials.
In 2005, the Executive Yuan set up the BioTaiwan Commission to consult with local and foreign experts and combine the strengths of government, industry, and academia in outlining a blueprint for the development of Taiwan's biotech industry. The Executive Yuan has also announced the launch of the Promotion Program for Biotechnology Industry, so that various government agencies can advance the biotech sector accordingly.
Based on a recommendation I made, President Wong of the Academia Sinica has tirelessly campaigned for the legislation of the Biotechnology and New Pharmaceutical Development Act. In June, Legislative Speaker Wang introduced the draft of the act to the Legislative Yuan in person. The legislation of the act was completed less than two weeks later. The law, which offers numerous tax and investment incentives, is expected to attract more investment to this sector and accelerate the development of the biotech industry and new pharmaceuticals.
Given that Taiwan's political environment is highly complicated, the swift passage of this act deserves praise. The people's high expectations for the biotech industry are the driving forces behind the efficient legislation of the act. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere respect and gratitude to Speaker Wang, President Wong, and the ruling and opposition parties, for their support and assistance in the passage of this law.
The government is also keen to establish biotech parks with unique features. On the 11th of this month, the Executive Yuan's Economic Task Force decided that by 2011, the Ministry of National Defense will make 25 hectares of its property at the Military 202 Armament Factory in Nankang available for the establishment of a biotech science park. I have personally instructed the Ministry of National Defense to do this, and expressed my interest in the project on a number of occasions. The National Science Council will invest US$400 million to plan the layout for the park's biomedical compound, and will be in charge of the construction of the park's basic infrastructure and education center.
The Academia Sinica, on its part, will invest around US$500 million to build the park's research and development center and clinical laboratories, and introduce research on new pharmaceuticals and special biotech disciplines, such as translational medicine and genomic medicine. Therefore, up to US$900 million in total will be invested in the building of the park. Our vision is to create a National Biotechnology Park.
Besides the National Biotechnology Park, we are planning to build two further communities of leading biotech enterprises. One of these will be located in the Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park, and will aim to attract major biotech companies, vaccine manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, electronic and telecommunications-based medical equipment manufacturers, and animal laboratories to open operations there. The other community will be located in the Kaohsiung Science Park, which is part of the Southern Taiwan Science Park. It will focus on attracting manufacturers of dental and orthopedic equipment, scalpels, and microelectromechanical systems.
We believe that only with these three communities of biotech enterprises in place can we lay a solid foundation for the development of Taiwan's biotech sector, so that Taiwan can become a visible player in the global biotech industry.
The government and private sector's efforts in promoting the biotech sector have led investment in the biopharmaceutical industry to increase from less than US$300 million each year to nearly US$700 million per year over the past five years. By the end of last year, the number of biotech and biomedical companies in Taiwan exceeded 1,100. These companies had a total business turnover of US$6 billion last year and enjoyed an average annual growth rate of 13 percent over the past five years. Development in this sector is indeed gathering speed.
We are however aware that the biotech industry is a skill-intensive, capital-intensive, and high-risk industry that can take a long time to mature. While the government's strong support may help to speed up innovation, research, and development in our biotech sector, we also need to bring in more talent from business and academic communities, catch up with the world's leading research, and learn from the experiences of other countries in developing their biotech industry if we want to realize a unique biotech industry of our own.
In closing, I would like to thank today's host for its commitment to organizing this conference. I wish this conference great success, and to all who are present here today, I wish you good health and happiness. Thank you.