TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A preview of BIO Asia-Taiwan was held on Wednesday, with organizers introducing topics to be addressed by the conference in late July, ranging from innovation to regional collaboration and tariffs.
US President Donald Trump’s impending tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry was the topic on everyone’s mind. Drug manufacturers are expecting to pay more for exports to the US, and drug licensing and raw materials may also increase.
Liu Lee-cheng (劉理成), chair of the Taiwan Bio Industry Organization, said tariffs would enable negotiations with the US, providing local firms a “chance to grow” and “open the door for any opportunities.”
Liu did admit that uncertainty was dominating the biotech industry, with many companies holding onto cash reserves and reticent to invest. He said leading manufacturers, such as Roche and AstraZeneca, will be hit by higher tariffs and will have no choice but to raise prices.
The impact on Taiwan may be minimized, as Liu said it produces many drugs with raw materials from China, which are unlikely to increase. And in contrast to what local media have reported, he does not expect Taiwan to encounter any drug shortages.
Johnsee Lee (李鍾熙), chair of the BIO Asia-Taiwan Organizing Committee, concurred that foreign firms and markets would feel the biggest impact of Trump’s tariffs. Lee said AstraZeneca shares dropped more than 5% the day before tariffs went into effect (April 9), and India, the largest drug manufacturer in the world, would also be impacted.
“Most of the drug manufacturing in Taiwan is quite small, so we won’t feel such an impact with exports.” Lee said India will feel an effect, as well as China, which supplies many of the raw materials to Indian drug producers.
Lee said that one of the aims of Trump’s tariffs was to bring drug producers back to the US. According to Liu, many leading international companies like Eli Lilly had relocated production facilities to Ireland for favorable tax terms.
Lee said Taiwan drug makers specialize in high-end materials, contract manufacturing, and clinical testing. “We do not know what the new tariffs will be, but we are guessing 25%.”
Three months of planning
Planning for BIO Asia-Taiwan coincided with Trump’s inauguration three months earlier. Organizers, however, could not have predicted the impact of the incoming president on global trade and the pharmaceutical industry.
“The nature of this industry requires lots of conferences and partnerships because nothing can be seen. These are chemical compounds we are talking about, and lots of collaboration has to go into each project,” said David Silver, consultant for the Taiwan Bio Industry Organization.
Thus, in the past five exhibitions, BIO Asia-Taiwan has appealed to a large ecosystem of pharmaceutical companies, biotech startups, academia, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. The event provides both forums and conferences to learn about the latest breakthroughs and new technology, as well as a matchmaking opportunity.
Silver said BIO Asia-Taiwan is part of the four big “BIO” conferences held annually, with the other events taking place in Boston, Vienna, and Tokyo.
Taiwan biotech firms work well with international partners, as laboratory standards are high and there is little threat of IP theft. Also, Taiwan and Japan share similar standards regarding “cell and regenerative gene therapies.”
Silver says Taiwan firms excel in the second round of clinical testing, when novel drugs are administered and tested on a larger population. A network of hospitals sharing the same health database and a high standard of scientific testing has garnered the trust of international partners.
Record attendance anticipated
BIO Asia-Taiwan is gearing up for its biggest event since its founding five years ago, inviting 100 speakers, along with 900 companies occupying 2,200 booths. Counting all of the demo days and site visits, the event stretches across nine days.
Notable speakers include Jens Juul Holst, a doctor and researcher who was the first to discover the hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Holst’s research led to drugs that treat diabetes and were later repurposed for weight loss drugs such as Ozempic.
Aside from top researchers, Lee said conferences and forums will allow participants to learn more about regulations, new technology, and applications. The conference also draws disparate fields together, such as medical devices, IT, assistive devices, and health technology.
Coming together also allows the industry to reflect upon how to innovate and inspire change. “For 30 years, we have talked about innovative drugs, but we have not made much progress. We need to see where the bottlenecks are located,” said Liu.
Wallace Lin (林治華), secretary-general of the Taiwan Bio Industry Organization, said it is important for biotech companies to interact, as much of their work is done in secret due to non-disclosure agreements. This means little awareness of what other companies are developing.
Lin said that Taiwan is involved in producing active pharmaceutical ingredients, which are the components of a drug that produce the intended therapeutic effect. Lin compared the work of biotech firms to running a restaurant: “You never say where you source your ingredients, like fish or meat.”
For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lin said researchers were testing existing malaria drugs as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Taiwan is the number two supplier of malaria drugs in the world, and also the sole supplier of some drugs for mosquito-borne illnesses in Africa.
Lin said that Taiwan’s high-quality production regularly passes US inspections. Taiwan is also strong in rapidly evolving fields such as personalized medicine, where drugs are custom-made for a patient.
“We are now living in an era of wonder drugs that have remarkable effectiveness over a fixed period.” Lin said such drugs are possible due to the rapid pace of drug development, though he added, “Cancer cells always find a way to fight back.”
