Despite the stormy weather, the forum highlighted various aspects of the biotechnology industry, including cell and gene therapy, precision medicine, digital healthcare, venture capital and investment.
BIO Asia–Taiwan 2024 opened at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center (TaiNEX 2) on July 24, despite an approaching typhoon. This year’s conference theme is “Global Perspective, Asian Touch”, reflecting Taiwan’s commitment to expanding the region’s biotech industry on a global level.
The morning plenary session, titled “Developments in Global Biotechnology,” began with opening remarks from BIO Asia–Taiwan 2024 Chairperson Johnsee Lee, Taiwan Biotechnology Industry Organization (Taiwan BIO) Chairperson Chung-Shiun Wu, and Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) International Affairs Director and International Council of Biotechnology Associations (ICBA) Secretary General Hillary Stith. Taiwan BIO was founded 35 years ago and has 150 organizational members.
Taiwan Biotech Association Secretary-General Wallace Lin has been elected vice president of the International Council of Biotechnology Associations (ICBA), the first Taiwanese and even Asian to hold the position. With Taiwan playing a key and expanding role in the global biomedical supply chain, Secretary-General Wu vowed that the association will continue to promote the development of Taiwan’s biotechnology industry and ensure its sustainable growth.
Distinguished speakers at this session included André Andonian, Asia Pacific Regional Chair and Strategic Advisor at Flagship Pioneering, Sabrina Yang, Principal at Flagship Pioneering and Co-Founder of Empress Tx, and Tang Prize recipient and MIT Professor Feng Zhang. This esteemed group shared their insights on the latest global biotechnology advancements, emerging industry trends, and future opportunities.
Opening the meeting, Johnsy Lee said that despite breakthroughs in many emerging technologies, the past 12 months have seen turmoil, especially in financial markets, but that a number of activities are planned for this year’s meeting to find ways to overcome such obstacles.
The BIO Asia–Taiwan 2024 conference has expanded into three parallel tracks.
Innovation forum, investment summit, regional cooperation forum, international exhibition, one-on-one business matching, corporate presentations, satellite forum
Taiwan BIO Chairman Wu Chung-hsiung said Taiwan BIO’s main goal is to expand global collaboration and will act as a bridge between industry, government and academia.
Hilary Stith, president of the International Council of Biotechnology Associations (ICBA), the world’s most important biotechnology association organization, highlighted Taiwan’s capabilities and the immense potential of partnerships.
A stunning showcase of delegate presentations and conference sessions:
BIO Asia–Taiwan 2024 will introduce a new format of three parallel forum tracks to help Taiwan’s biotech community address the challenges and complexities of the industry.
The first day’s program will feature a session titled “A Healthier Taiwan Through International Collaboration,” featuring many prominent speakers, including Johnsee Lee, Chairman of BIO Asia–Taiwan 2024; Katsuma Hideto, Chairman of the Industrial Research and Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (IRPMA) and General Manager of Eli Lilly Taiwan; Lily Wong, Partner at PwC Taiwan; Eric Y. Chuan, Vice President and General Director of the Biomedical Technology and Devices Institute at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI); Toshihiko Takeda, Senior Advisor at Boston Consulting Group; and Francis Milnes, President of Novartis Taiwan.
The other session focused on the current hot topic of “Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs)” and featured presentations by Liu Li-Cheng, Chairman of EirGenix, Heidi Wang, CEO of OBI Pharma, Gur Roshwalb, Partner at aMoon, Israel’s largest pharmaceutical venture capital fund, Zhu Gui-Dong, CEO of SparX Biopharmaceuticals, and Edward Hsieh, VP of R&D at Formosa Laboratories.
Furthermore, an additional session explored the latest applications and future developments in the field of “Cell and Gene Therapy”, where a panel of renowned experts discussed the current challenges of cell and gene therapy from various perspectives including funding, regulations, manufacturing, ethics, etc. Participants in the session included Chien-Tsun Kuan, CEO of ARCE Therapeutics, John Tsai, Managing Partner of Syncona, Alex Shih-Min Huang, Vice President of BeiGene, Chia-Hua Maggie Ho, COO of Amerex, David Chang, CEO of the newly formed Taiwan Bio-Manufacturing Corporation (TBMC), and Gur Roshwalb, Partner at aMoon.
Explore opportunities in Asia Pacific through engaging sessions:
Andre Andonian of Flagship Pioneering said Asia has become an important hub of global innovation, with around 60% of GDP coming from manufacturing and around 60% of the world’s patents being obtained in Asia. As such, Flagship Pioneering will begin to expand into the Asia-Pacific market starting in 2023, with plans to set up offices in Singapore, Japan and South Korea, with expansion to other countries. In addition to its own investments, Flagship aims to establish further partnerships to accelerate the development of biotechnology, bioengineering and medicine. Sabrina Yang, Principal of Flagship Pioneering and Co-Founder of Empress TX, shared insights into how Flagship Pioneering creates growth-oriented companies through its unique “What if” process to explore innovative technologies.
Feng Zhang, MIT Professor and Tan Prize recipient in Biomedical Sciences, presented two studies by his team on viral vector delivery systems that could be further developed into innovative therapies.
Anis Uzzaman, founder and CEO of Pegasus Tech Ventures, shared Silicon Valley investment trends and his perspective as a Silicon Valley investor on biotech and healthcare. He said he is particularly optimistic about future developments in data science integrated with AI, gene editing, bioprinting combined with tissue engineering, stem cells, and brain-machine interfaces. Pegasus has invested in over 260 startups, 29 of which have grown into unicorns.
Paru Deshpande, vice president of R&D for Health Technologies at IMEC, explained how the interplay between biology and technology is driving the future of healthcare. He also showcased various digital health solutions developed by IMEC using wafer technology.
Zubin J. Daruwala, Healthcare Industry Leader, PwC Singapore and Asia Pacific, discussed emerging trends in the global healthcare industry and highlighted that the concept of “healthcare” is shifting to “wellness” as innovative technologies can address medical issues before they occur. Daruwala elaborated on the importance of embracing technology to drive innovation.
Brian Mi, President of Asia Pacific at IQVIA, highlighted the overall trends and opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry. He noted that since COVID-19, major pharmaceutical companies have shifted funding to research and development and are now focusing on non-communicable diseases. Regulators have also become more flexible, making it easier to enter the pharmaceutical market. He also noted that artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed drug development.
Miguel Forte, president of the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT) and CEO and co-founder of Kiji Therapeutics, explained during his presentation that cell and gene therapy products have experienced exponential growth over the past 15 years, but despite the opportunity, challenges remain in the implementation of these therapies.
Overall, BIO Asia–Taiwan 2024 promises to be an exciting and impactful event.
