BioBusiness Asia conference opens with a focus on precision medicine

TAIPEI — The BioBusiness Asia (BBA) conference, one of the Bio Taiwan 2015 highlights, opened in Taipei Wednesday, attended by business, government and academic representatives in the bio technology sector from countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The two-day conference is focused on the topics of precision medicine and future healthcare, as well as biotech investment strategies, with the participants set to discuss the development of precision medicine, ways to establish innovative cooperation links with international pharmaceutical companies, and the sharing of successful commercial models.

The discussions will also touch on the business opportunities and market challenges facing the biotech industry and the sector’s future development, according to the organizer, the Taiwan Bio Industry Organization.

At the opening ceremony, Bio Taiwan 2015 Chairman Johnsee Lee said that U.S. President Barack Obama put forth the Precision Medicine Initiative early this year, raising heated debate globally on the subject. He believes that precision medicine is a necessary path for the world’s bio medical engineering industry, Lee said.

The goal of precision medicine is to seek more precise diagnosis methods and more effective drugs, and match them to develop the most economic and efficient medical therapies based on individual needs, Lee said.

Precision Medicine

Because different ethnic groups are endowed with different gene types, precision medicine is an industry that has different forms and needs in different areas. “This will be the advantage of Taiwan’s biotech industry,” Lee said.

He expressed hope that the BBA this year will help Taiwan to gain a competitive position and find its direction for future development in the Asia-Pacific market.

Lee also noted that a Greater China Opportunities Conference will begin July 24 on much-anticipated issues concerning how the two sides of the Taiwan Strait can jointly open the greater Asia market by integrating their resources and cooperating.

More than 300 bio-tech representatives in the industry, government and academic sectors attended the BBA July 22-23 at the CTBC Financial Park.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Health and Welfare Minister Chiang Been-huang said that under the government’s policy assistance, the biotech industry in Taiwan has achieved many innovations over the past few years.

One of the Six Emerging Industries

Since 2009, the government has included biotech in the country’s six emerging industries, providing them with assistance in the fields of manpower, policy, science parks, incubation and commercialization, according to Chiang.

Bio Taiwan, being held July 22-26 at the Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei, is one of the largest gatherings of its kind in Asia.

It combines five events — the investment-focused BioBusiness Asia conference, the Greater China Opportunities Forum, company presentations from Asia and around the world, one-on-one partnering, seminars and workshops, and the BioTaiwan Exhibition.

The exhibition, slated for July 23-26, features more than 200 booths manned by representatives from 600 companies, according to the organizer.

Reference: http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/business/2015/07/23/441403/BioBusiness-Asia.htm