Taiwan Kicks off 2020 Healthcare Expo, Targeting Strategies to Boost Digital Transformation in Biopharma Industry

As one of the largest in-person medical forums during a pandemic, the Taiwan Healthcare + Expo scheduled between December 3 to 6 at the Nangang Exhibition Hall, Taipei, kicked off with much excitement. The event features presenters from the top-notch technology and pharmaceutical industries of Taiwan.

Around 550 companies and 150 startups will showcase the latest innovation and applications of AI, IoT, Sensor chip, 8K CT Scan, 5G, VR, and AR. Some big names in the industry are here to participate, including HITACHI, Epson, Illumina, and Roche. Furthermore, representatives from medical centers, hospitals, and over 20 ICT companies in Taiwan are also set to join the events. Besides, Quanta, AU Optronics, Advantech, Asus, Compal Electronic, Chang Gung Medical Foundation, Taipei Medical University, Veterans General Hospital are also on the list.

COVID-19 Targeting Technologies and Precision Medicine

The expo will target the bursting needs and developments in precision medicine, regenerative medicine, genome sequencing, and cancer detection, which are all future battlegrounds for the pharmaceutical industry. The forums will elaborate on strategies for Taiwanese companies to grasp the opportunities on the global stage.

Moreover, the pavilion features discussions on diverse topics, addressing possibilities and solutions in different fields, which involves top 50 innovative COVID-19 prevention technologies, Inno Zone, Smart hospitals, Medical device, and supply chain, Pharmaceutical, Precision detection, Genome, Cell therapy, BioTech & CDMO, COVID-19 related products and biotech in agriculture.

Utilizing Semiconductors to Build Medical Care

You Si-Kun, President of the Legislative in Taiwan

In the opening ceremony, the President of the Legislative in Taiwan Yuan You Si-Kun said that since 2017, the Taiwan healthcare expo had become one of the largest medical exhibitions in Asia. With the help of the leading semiconductor technology, Taiwan picked up a fast pace to digitalize the pharma industry and later evolved into a Big Health industry.

Taiwan has been well served by the experience gained from utilizing technology to tackle SARS in 2003. It has exploited those learnings to upgrade its strategy to fight back the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the technologies presented at the expo are certainly keys for Taiwan to build a prosperous healthcare industry and for the world to see such innovative medical power.

Cross-Industry Cooperation to Build a Strong Economy Post-COVID

Addressing the importance of collaboration between pharma and technology, President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen expressed views on the post-COVID economy and strategies.

Dr. Tsai Ing-wen, President of Taiwan

President Tsai said COVID-19 has challenged the world in various ways, especially for global businesses. However, it should be noted that the pandemic has presented great opportunities for Taiwan to upgrade its supply chain and realign itself with the world.

Taiwan possesses both state-of-the-art medical skills and ICT technology, the integration of which will prove to be a successful strategy. The Taiwan healthcare expo will exhibit all the possibilities and innovations with which it can build a strong post-COVID economy.

The expo not only features innovative medical technologies, digital solutions, and platforms to raise discussion and communication, it is also strongly tied to the 6 core government development strategies, including IoT, AI, Cybersecurity, supply chain, biotech, and medical technology industry.

Taiwan has begun planning for the economy as the Institute for Biotechnology and Medicine Industry in Taiwan has carried out post-COVID development strategies. It focuses on fostering close connections across all industries and improving laws, talent cultivation, and investment in the field. To sum up, Taiwan will direct efforts to the following:

1. Accelerate digital transformation in healthcare companies: Taiwan can rise to be the global center for digital transformation in pharmaceutical companies if it can integrate AI, IoT, 5G, Cloud solutions with digitized medical data from healthcare.
2. Harness key materials in the supply chain: In the time of a pandemic, Taiwan should strategize how to secure medical devices, active pharmaceutical ingredients, pharmaceutical preparations, and vaccines needed due to the dependent nature of Taiwan in the global supply chain.

However, Taiwan must expand the ability to self-develop medicines during a pandemic so that international situations will not easily impact the country. For the same, the Taiwan government will encourage cooperation between upstream and downstream companies in the supply chain to build competitiveness in the pharmaceutical market.

By Tyler Chen

Editor: Rajaneesh K. Gopinath, Ph.D.

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Tyler Chen

"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died."- Erma Bombeck