(Taiwan) DCB and Illinois' iBIO sign cooperation MOU :: BiotechEast - Taiwan and China biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, ^¤å½s×, ^¤å×§ï ::

BiotechEast staff)

27 April, 2006
Taiwan's Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB), a government-supported biotech R&D and development body, announced Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization (iBIO) for a number of joint research projects.

Headquartered in Chicago, iBIO is an industry association comprising of international agricultural and human-health companies based in the state. Many of the world's largest multinational drug companies and biotech firms are members of iBIO, including Eli Lilly, Monsanto, ADM, and Dupont.

The MOU signed between DCB and iBIO will upgrade cooperation between the two parties by promoting technology transfer, cooperation in clinical trials, and bio-product development and commercialization, said Dr. Huang Jui-lien, director of the DCB.

Ohio State Governor Bob Taft (left) and Dr. Huang Jui-lien, president of Taiwan's Development Center for Biotechnology enjoy the moment at a joint Taiwan-Ohio biotechnology breakfast conference in Chicago, 11 April 2006.

Relations between the two have been gradually building up over recent years. In 2002 and 2004, the DCB and iBIO jointly held video conferences and successfully mediated talks between over 100 biotech-related companies and investors in Taiwan and the US, according to Huang.

The signing of the MOU comes on the back of efforts by Taiwan to increase industry contacts at the US State level. For example a joint conference between Taiwan and Ohio was held during the just-concluded BIO 2006 biotechnology convention in Chicago, with speakers from Taiwan including the DCB's Huang, Minister of State Dr. Lin Ferng-ching; and the CEO of President Life Sciences, Dr. Lai Po-hsiung. The meeting concluded with agreement between the Governor of Ohio State, Bob Taft, and the DCB's Huang to set up joint Taiwan-Ohio research projects in cardiovascular and cancer therapeutics, as well as in agricultural biotech.

A further indication of this growing bilateral relationship, Taft and his entourage called on the Taiwan pavilion at last year's BIO 2005 convention in Philadelphia, meeting with many of the industry and government reps there as part of the Taiwan delegation. The meeting was particularly significant as such high-level contacts are unusual given Taiwan's political pariah status.

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