BIO Asia–Taiwan

Conference Highlights Session 8 – Strategic Insights into CMC Program Design: Pioneering Biologics Development Excellence For the luncheon Session 8, entitled "Strategic Insights into CMC Program Design: Pioneering Biologics Development Excellence", four biologics manufacturing experts were invited to share their insights on Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC). Friedmund Bachman, Vice President of OncoOne Research & Development, Germany, outlined the numerous details to consider in CMC process development during biologics R&D. Hsing-Mao Chu, CEO of T-E Meds, discussed how his company develops complex next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) through innovative multi-arm linker and proprietary drug bundle technologies. GeneQuantum Healthcare Chief Scientist Paul Song shared the development story of his company’s ADC technology and the manufacturing advantages brought by its unique antibody drug conjugation technology. Taron Solutions CEO Alan Chang shared global trends and observations in drug CMC design, pointing out that failed drugs are often due to design issues. Therefore, the earlier problems in drug development are identified and resolved, the higher the success rate of the drugs.

Conference Highlights Session 7 - Taiwan BIO Awards-Successful Stories In Session 7, entitled "Taiwan BIO Awards – Successful Stories", the successful companies from this year's Taiwan BIO Awards were invited to give short presentations on their winning development strategies, technological highlights, and latest innovations. These 19 companies included: Lotus Pharmaceutical, PharmaEssentia, Bonraybio, Pharmosa Biopharm, TSH Biopharm, Steminent Biotherapeutics, Onyx Healthcare, BenQ Dialysis, Acepodia Biotechnologies, ImmunAdd, Sunhawk Vision Biotech, Elixiron Immunotherapeutics, BioGend Therapeutics, Braxx Biotech, Protect Biotech, Formosa Pharmaceuticals, TaiGen Biotechnology, HippoScreen Neurotech, and Syngen Biotech.

Conference Highlights Session 6 - mRNA and New Therapeutic Modalities New Post-Pandemic Treatment Prospects: mRNA Therapy and Gene Therapy Usher in the Era of Personalized Medicine Session 6, entitled "mRNA and New Therapeutic Modalities", focused on the wide-reaching mRNA technology that that came to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first speaker was Yusuke Nakamura, President of the National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition (NIBIOHN) in Japan, who shared insights on mRNA cancer vaccines designed to target tumor neoantigens for each patient, aiming to overcome the challenges of immunotherapy. John Tsai, former Head of Global Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer at Novartis, currently a Partner at Syncona, discussed the regulatory challenges faced by popular gene therapies and the future development trends in this field. Eric Huang, Partner at Delos Capital and former General Manager and Chief Scientist of Moderna Genomics, shared insights on mRNA as cancer vaccines, nucleic acid drugs, and the latest global advancements in gene editing therapies. Kevin Chan, Director of Commercial Strategy and Business Development at Kudo Biotechnology, analyzed the practical challenges of mRNA products in process development, quality management, and transportation from a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) perspective.

Conference Highlights Session 5 - Frontier of Gene and Cell Therapies Session 5 explored the latest applications and future developments in the field of cell and gene therapy, and featured discussions from Chien-Tsun Kuan, CEO of ARCE Therapeutics; John Tsai, Managing Partner at Syncona; Alex Shih-Min Huang, Vice President at 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. This esteemed lineup of experts discussed the current challenges in cell and gene therapy from multiple perspectives including funding, regulation, manufacturing, and ethics.

Conference Highlights Session 4 - ADC Drug Development and Manufacturing Trends Challenges and Solutions Session 4 focused on the current hot topic of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and featured presentations from 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, Vice President of R&D, Formosa Laboratories.

Big congratulations to the 2024 Taiwan BIO Awards Winners!

Conference Highlights Session 3 - Through International Alignment for a Healthier Taiwan Session 3 of the first day's program was entitled "Through International Alignment for a Healthier Taiwan", and featured a number of notable speakers, including Johnsee Lee, Chairman of BIO Asia–Taiwan 2024; Hidehito Katsuma, Chairman of the Industrial Research Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (IRPMA) and General Manager of Eli Lilly Taiwan; Lily Wong, Partner, PwC Taiwan; Eric Y. Chuang, Vice President and General Director, Biomedical Technology and Device Research Laboratories at the Institute at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI); Toshihiko Takeda, Senior Advisor, Boston Consulting Group; and Frances Milnes, President of Novartis Taiwan.

Conference Highlights Session 1 (Plenary) -Global Biotech Development Exploring opportunities in the Asia-Pacific: Venture capital, digital technology, precision medicine, and cell and gene therapy experts gather In his presentation André Andonian of Flagship Pioneering said that Asia had become a crucial player globally, with approximately 60 percent of GDP coming from manufacturing and around 60 percent of global patents originating from Asia. In particular, the Asia-Pacific region had become a hub of innovation. For these reasons Flagship Pioneering began expanding into the Asia-Pacific market starting 2023, establishing offices in Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, with plans to extend to other countries. In addition to investing independently, Flagship aims to establish additional partnerships to accelerate the development of biotechnology, bioengineering, and medicine. Sabrina Yang, Principal at Flagship Pioneering and Co-Founder of Empress Tx, shared insights on how Flagship Pioneering creates growth-oriented companies through its unique ‘What if’ process exploring innovative technologies. Coming from Taiwan originally, she expressed optimism around Taiwan government policies in the manufacturing and medical industries, the advantages of its National Health Insurance system, in particular its medical databases, its fundamental research, and cross-industry collaboration. She hoped to leverage Flagship Pioneering resources and Empress Tx' innovative drug development platform to enter global markets. This year, the conference invited Feng Zhang, recipient of the Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science and professor at MIT, to share two studies conducted by his team on viral vector delivery systems; one published this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), and the other in Nature in 2023. Both studies hold promise for further development into innovative therapies. #StayTunedForMorePhotosAndHighlights

Conference Highlights Session 2 (Plenary) -Global Biotech Development Anis Uzzaman, Founder and CEO of Pegasus Tech Ventures, shared investment trends from Silicon Valley and his perspective as a Silicon Valley investor on biotechnology and medical care. He said that he was particularly optimistic about the future development of data science integrated with AI, gene editing, bio-printing combined with tissue engineering, stem cells, and brain-machine interfaces. Pegasus has invested in over 260 startups, with 29 of these companies achieving unicorn status, he said. Paru Deshpande, Vice President of R&D, Health Technologies Division, imec, discussed how the interaction between biology and technology was driving the future of healthcare. He also showcased various digital health solutions developed by imec using wafer technology. Zubin J. Daruwalla, Health Industries Leader at PwC Singapore and Asia-Pacific, discussed emerging trends in the global health industry, opining that ‘healthcare’ as a concept will shift towards ‘health’, as innovative technologies are now capable of addressing medical issues even before diseases occur. He emphasized, "AI will not replace humans, but those who do not embrace technology will be replaced by those who do." Brian Mi, President, Asia-Pacific, IQVIA, highlighted overall trends and opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry. He noted that post-COVID-19, large pharmaceutical companies had shifted their funding towards research and development and are currently focusing on non-communicable diseases. Regulatory agencies, due to increased flexibility, have also better facilitated drug market entry. He also said that artificial intelligence (AI) had brought transformative changes to drug development. Miguel Forte, President of the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT), and CEO and co-founder at Kiji Therapeutics, in his presentation explained that cell and gene therapy products had seen exponential growth over the past 15 years, but despite such opportunities there are various challenges that remained in implementing these therapies. #StayTunedForMorePhotosAndHighlights

Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao visits the BIO Asia–Taiwan 2024 Exhibition and Commends Taiwan's Biotech and Biomedical Capabilities, Expects Continued Global Integration of Taiwan's Biotech Industry https://lnkd.in/gbKwfDMX 28 July, 2024 Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Mei-chin visited the BIO Asia–Taiwan 2024 Exhibition at the Nangang Exhibition Center (TaiNEX 1) this morning (28th) to learn about the latest technologies and equipment in the biotechnology field. She affirmed Taiwan's strong biomedical capabilities and expressed her trust that the exhibition would assist Taiwanese biotechnology companies and institutions to better connect with their international counterparts. Upon her arrival, the Vice President presented awards to the winners of this year’s Taiwan BIO Awards in the categories "Outstanding Company of the Year"; "Emerging Company of the Year"; "Startup of the Year"; and "Innovation of the Year"; She then toured the exhibition, including the "Contract Development and Manufacturing Services"; "Precision Medicine and Genetic Testing"; "International Pavilions"; "Government and Academic Research"; and "Industry-Academia Incubation"; specialty zones, to witness the full biotechnology industry chain from research and development to finished product stage, in addition to taking in some of the latest emerging technologies and equipment. She praised Taiwan's biomedical capabilities and looked forward to the exhibition attracting and encouraging exchanges and cooperation from key biotechnology companies both domestically and internationally. The BIO Asia–Taiwan 2024 Exhibition is held at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 1 (TaiNEX 1) from July 26 to July 29. This year's theme is "Global View, Asian Touch"; showcasing the breakthrough advancements in new drugs, innovative therapies, and regenerative medicine in Asia and Taiwan amidst the region’s rapid economic development. The event was also attended by Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan, BIO Asia-Taiwan 2024 Chairman Johnsee Lee, and Taiwan Bio Industry Organization Chairman Wu Chung-hsiun, among others. ===== Taiwan Bio Industry Organization Taiwan Bio-Manufacturing Corporation #國家衛生研究院 National Health Research Institutes 國立臺灣大學系統科研產業化平台 National Taiwan University 臺北醫學大學 Taipei Medical Universtity #經濟部產業技術司 生技中心 工業技術研究院 財團法人食品工業發展研究所 #國家生技研究園區 #國家生技研究園區創服育成中心 國立成功大學 National Cheng Kung University China Medical University暨醫療體系 #智慧重症戰情室 國家科學及技術委員會 #農業部 #美國各州政府辦事處協會（ASOA） Trade & Investment, Canadian Trade Office in Taipei #澳洲駐台辦事處 Australian Office in Taipei Bora Pharmaceuticals 台康生技股份有限公司 Quark Biotechnology