(Taiwan) 3-day Novartis biotech leadership course opens in Taipei :: BiotechEast - Taiwan and China biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, ^¤å½s×, ^¤å×§ï ::

(David Silver, BiotechEast)

25 September, 2005
In what looks like becoming an annual event, the second Novartis International Biotechnology Leadership Camp 2005 got underway in Taipei Friday with presentations from local and international industry VIPs.

Dr. Paul Herrling, head of corporate research at Novartis International, speaks at the Novartis International Biotechnology Leadership Camp 2005, held in Taipei 23-25 September, 2005.

The so-called 'camp,' actually held at the plush Far Eastern Hotel in Taipei, is a chance for biomedical experts from Europe and 10 Asian countries to share their insight with a select group of young achievers and students to help develop tomorrow's industry leaders. 36 attendees from Taiwan and abroad are taking part in the event this year.

The camp was the brainchild of Novartis' Stefan Ziegler during his stint as general manager of the company's Taiwan operations. Ziegler is now regional head of Novartis Asia Pacific.

As was the case last year, the morning session of the first day was a chance for Taiwan government biotechnology notables, Novartis executives from Taiwan and abroad, and other invited international specialists to open the event and make presentations to attendees and gathered media reps on hot topics facing the industry today.

From Taiwan, speakers included Dr. Lee Chong-chou, the director of the biotechnology office of the Executive Yuan's Science & Technology Advisory Group (STAG); Dr Chen Chei-hsiang, director of the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Industries Program Office (BPIPO); and Dr. Michael Su, director of the Biomedical Engineering Center (BMEC), Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). The event was opened by Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-Tseh, President of Academia Sinica.

From Novartis, speakers included the general manager of Novartis Taiwan, Jorge Arevalo; Dr. Paul Herrling, head of corporate research at Novartis International; and Stefan Ziegler. Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, formed in 1996 from the merger of the Swiss companies Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz. The company employs around 80,000 people in over 140 around the world.

Herrling spoke on the methodology of modern drug discovery in general and within Novartis. In particular he spoke of the company's criteria for the establishment of research centers overseas, listing a number of deciding parameters. These included good access to talent, a superior research environment, a proximity to patents and their treating doctors, public support for biomedical sciences and political stability, acceptable animal experimental laws, and acceptable regulations for scientific research. Most important, said Herrling, was a good commercial and regulatory environment for the pharma industry, including strong IP protection.

Novartis has found these conditions in Singapore, he said, and was a reason for the recent opening of the company's new Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases in the city state.

Participants at the Novartis International Biotechnology Leadership Camp 2005 line up for a group photo.

The "It is important to maintain an environment where these parameters can develop. In Singapore we have these conditions," said Herrling, with the implication that the company had not found such conditions elsewhere in the region, including Taiwan.

Questions to Herrling from media and camp participants were asked on the expense dilemma facing the industry, as the cost of drug development continue to skyrocket and healthcare costs outpace inflation as these expenses are being on to users. Herrling explained that although costs were rising, the biotechnology methods used today should bring savings in the long term.

"It's true that the technology is making drugs more expensive. But with this technology, hit rates [successfully identifying drug candidates that can go on to becoming real drugs] will increase over time, and so it should work out cheaper," he said.

Herrling also maintained that cost should be examined against cost benefit, with such benefits going beyond merely the cost of the drug.

"A patient suffering from Alzheimer's disease has [caring] costs of around US$20,000 per year. By not treating the patient [with an expensive drug], it becomes more expensive for society," he explained.

Ziegler spoke next on Novartis’ view on corporate social responsibility. He addressed the current difficult environment with the erosion of trust and public support for the industry, coupled with increased expectations for new disease cures. He spoke of Novartis' compliance since 1999 with the UN Global Compact, which stresses a respect for human rights, equitable labor standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption.

Ziegler also spoke of the company's policy towards providing ready access to medicine by underprivileged populations. These included a public-private partnership with the WHO for the Novartis malaria drug Coartem.

"Coartem is a very effective malaria drug with a 94% cure rate. In an agreement with the WHO, we now provide at cost to poorer countries," he said.

Ziegler noted that Coartem should be of particular interest to the Taiwanese life science community as it was developed from a traditional herbal medicine.

Other Novartis access-to-medicine programs included supplying drugs to treat leprosy and tuberculosis in SE Asia and Africa, and providing leukemia drugs for free to patients in countries where the drug is approved but not reimbursed.

Photos provided by Elite Public Relations Consultants, Taipei.

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