2022 BIO Asia-Taiwan & Australia-Taiwan Biotech Collaboration Forum
Remarks by Australian Representative Jenny Bloomfield
28-29 July 2022
I am delighted to attend this year’s BIO Asia – Taiwan and welcome you to the Australia-Taiwan Biotech Collaboration Forum. I extend a warm welcome to our Australian participants, and participants from around the world, and I invite all of you to visit the Australian Pavilion here at the conference.
I would like to thank BIO Asia – Taiwan Chairman Johnsee Lee, Taiwan BIO Industry Organisation Chairman Chung-hsiu Wu, and all those involved in organising this important event.
I was proud to attend last year’s BIO Asia-Taiwan, and I’m delighted to see that our collaboration has only continued to strengthen, with so many great Australian and Taiwanese firms here to share opportunities in clinical trials, biotech innovation, precision medicine and more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges across the world. But despite its devastating consequences, COVID has also created new opportunities, none more so than in the field of biotechnology, as we have worked together to respond to the impacts of the pandemic.
Australia and Taiwan have significant strengths and are among the world’s leaders for biotechnology.
Australia has a world-class healthcare system that embraces innovation.
We strongly support biotech research - including through our 20-billion-dollar Medical Research Future Fund, and initiatives such as the Research & Development Tax Incentive and the Patent Box Initiative.
We have a strong regulatory system that protects intellectual property.
And our universities and research institutes are among the most highly respected in the world.
And we are stepping up support through our “Biotechnology in Australia – Strategic Plan for Health and Medicine” – to even better support world-class research and development, facilitate high-quality secure clinical development, and accelerate commercialisation, helping translate innovative research into real world outcomes.
Australia strongly welcomes our growing partnership with Taiwan in biotechnology and the health and medical sectors.
We have enduring links:
Australia’s global biopharmaceutical leader, CSL, one of the largest plasma processing firms in the world, is a longstanding, reliable partner of Taiwan - developing and manufacturing life-saving medicines from plasma collected here and around the world.
And CSL’s Seqirus, the world’s second largest influenza company, is an important partner in pandemic preparedness, and a major contributor to the prevention and control of influenza globally.
I was delighted to visit CSL’s new state-of-the-art plasma processing facility in Melbourne recently, and I am excited about further building our partnership.
And as testimony to the growing importance of our relationship, I am delighted to welcome even more of Australia’s innovative biotech companies here this year - covering new drugs using advanced microbiome technology, cancer detection, and clinical research.
Clinical trials is one of Australia’s strengths, and our partnership continues to thrive, with numerous Taiwanese firms conducting clinical trials in Australia.
Two Australian companies represented here, Novotech and George Clinical, have also signed MOUs with the Taiwan Clinical Trials Consortium for collaboration in cross-market trials.
Novotech is the leading Asia-Pacific biotech specialist clinical research organisation with labs, phase I facilities, and drug development consulting services.
George Clinical is an Australian clinical research organisation which can help Taiwanese partners take advantage of R&D incentives available to biotech, pharma and medical devices firms.
Other companies with clinical trials expertise include Nucleus Network, Australia’s largest Phase 1 clinical research organisation and the only Phase 1 specialist globally with facilities in the USA and Australia; as well as 360biolabs, Acclime, Neuroscience Trials Australia, and Southern Star Research.
Beyond clinical trials, on show are also Australia’s strengths in research, development and commercialisation of new and innovative treatments, including new drugs using advanced microbiome technology.
Microba Life Sciences is a precision microbiome company seeking Taiwanese partners to drive the discovery and development of novel therapeutics to improve human health. And BiomeBank is looking to collaborate with industry and academia in Taiwan to promote microbiome research.
Finally, Minomic International Ltd hopes to partner with Taiwanese distributors for its MiCheck® Prostate - a blood test that gives a risk score for aggressive prostate cancer.
As we continue to manage the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has never been more important to work together collaboratively to strengthen protection and preparedness, and advance overall health security and wellbeing.
As Indo-Pacific democracies with highly complementary economies and strong people to people links, Australia and Taiwan are natural partners in these and other areas.
We look forward to deepening cooperation, especially in biotechnology, for the benefit of all our peoples.
I thank you all for participating and I look forward to new, concrete opportunities for investment, collaboration and partnerships.