07TAIPEI2551
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出自台灣版維基解密 Wikileaks@taiwan
[編輯] 分類
| 文件索引 Reference ID | 標題 Topic | 建立日 Created | 解密日 Released | 機密等級 Classification | 出處使館 Origin | 翻譯完成度 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07TAIPEI2551 | (本站首發)2007年底，楊甦隸向美國國務院報告，認為生技產業是台灣的未來，並高度肯定蔡英文和宇昌生技(TaiMed)。 | 2007-12-03 09:53 | 2011-08-30 01:44 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | 美國在台協會 | 已完成 |
[編輯] 標題
2007年底，楊甦隸向美國國務院報告，認為生技產業是台灣的未來，並高度肯定蔡英文和宇昌生技(TaiMed)。
[編輯] 中文翻譯
1. （摘要）在1970及1980年代，官方資金與支持幫助台灣的資訊產業成為世界最具競爭力的產業。隨著中國大陸和其他低成本製造商提高競爭，台灣當局認同生技產業將成為未來經濟發展的主要領域。儘管台灣希望儘快發展生技產業，它讓未成為主要的經濟重心。的確，台灣擁有人力與技術資源足以成為該產業舉足輕重的要角，尤其是擁有在台及海外的大量科學家與研究者。然而，像是市場行銷、智慧財產權、團隊合作文化以及薪資等層面，依然難以與國際標準競爭。為了培植台灣的生技產業全球製藥與行銷的競技舞台競爭的能力，新的經營模式和製造技術將是成功的要素。摘要結束。
背景
2. 生物科技，簡稱生技，意指使用基於生物學的科技來發展農業、食品科學和藥物。全世界的生技產值大約是美金八千億元，其中台灣僅僅佔有百分之零點六，也就是47億美元；日本、新加坡與南韓則分別是兩千億美元、159億美元及75億美元。台灣正努力追趕其同區域競爭者。即使風險資本被認為是美國生技產業成功的主要因素，亞洲經濟則比較著重於官方政策來培養生技部門。例如台灣新的獎勵措施，提供生技業五年內獲利的減稅35%，這是其他產業所無法享有的優惠。其它的獎勵措施包括提供歸國台灣科學家的房屋津貼，有助於他們在像是台北等高消費水平的城市居住。整體而言，未來一年內台灣國家發展基金計畫挹注300億台幣（約美金9.07億）發展生技產業。此外，也有一些檯面下的力量在幫助台灣生技業。舉例來說，台灣花費了30%的成本在研發。相較於香港與新加坡，台灣有較多的人口基礎以及較多的潛在研究人才。
輕敲人才資源庫
3. 美國在台協會台北辦事處副處長和駐台經濟事務辦公室官員們，最近參訪了中央研究院，是個主要由台灣當局出資的研究機構。中研院有24個研究單位，包含物理、生命科學及人文，院長是翁啟惠，畢業於麻省理工學院的基因學專家，在回到台灣之前任職於美國加州聖地牙哥 Scripps 醫藥研究中心。翁啟惠的研究興趣在於生化學與新藥，也是台灣努力爭取由美國及其他國家回台的生技人才背後的主要推手。翁啟惠提到，雖然台灣已取得許多專利權，名列世界第三，但還是有許多創新的理念閒置或沒有被行銷。為了鼓勵生技投資，翁啟惠努力透過立法機關推動台灣的生技展業獎勵措施。他觀察到，除了金融方面，被官方機構雇用的研究員能夠轉移他們的知識到私人公司，用以發展新藥。翁啟惠表示，不同於資訊產業，在藥物發展的不同階段，商業夥伴都可以加入。在幫助補償台灣相對於美國和其他以開發經濟體較低的薪資，翁啟惠說中研院付給歸國研究學者17.5個月的年薪，並提供住房優惠和其它的獎勵。
經濟部挹注資金與投資
4. 台灣的生技產業主要是由經濟部出資。財團法人生物技術開發中心（DCB）就是由經濟部出資的研究部門。生技中心是個非營利機構，有400名員工，其中包含300名研究人員。生技中心董事長吳明基（音譯）告訴我們，該機構有兩種主要設施，提供私人產業蛋白質藥物研究和毒物學分析，以產生自身研究基金。不同於它的同袍工業技術研究院，生技發展中心並不著重於醫療器材和發展。反之，它的主要重心在於藥物發展，包含分子藥物以及中醫草藥。生技發展中心做研究，而其左右手，經濟部生物技術與醫藥工業發展推動小組負責說服國內與國外公司投資。為了避免利益爭議，經濟部並不直接參與生技產業，而是出資贊助公司如Taimed、藥華醫藥（PharmEssentia）等。
TaiMed領導台灣進入新的生技產業
5. TaiMed 是最近成立的一家專精研發抗病毒藥的公司，由台灣在海外學有專精的研究人員組成，並且由前任行政院副院長蔡英文擔任董事長。蔡英文，畢業自康乃爾大學和倫敦政經學院，她代表台灣新一代還能保持在國際市場具有競爭力。最近蔡英文和美國在台協會經濟事務處和大使的會議中，對台灣未來在生技產業的競爭力的感到樂觀。她提到在美國有相當多正值青壯年的台灣科學家，包括世界知名的愛滋病藥物專家何大一都已經加入了TaiMed。藉著他們的經驗和專業，他們可以提供台灣有足夠的動能來發展和高科技業一樣有潛力的生技產業。TaiMed最近和生技界的巨擘GenenTech簽署了協議，發展愛滋病毒藥物TNX355，這新藥能阻斷HIV病毒進入人體細胞的途徑。新藥目前正在第2期的臨床實驗。當通過了美國藥物食品管理局要求的所有臨床實驗，成果被審核和批准後，這個新藥就可以在日本，歐盟和美國上市。在TaiMed這家公司的案例裏，台灣經濟部的國發基金提供了初期的40%的資金，來幫助公司的成立，並且壯大到能夠招募人員和後續的資金。蔡英文說TaiMed的第一優先任務是新藥的開發，之後將涉及醫療器材和未來世代的製造方式。雖然政府的資金目前占了40%的股權，蔡英文說公股最後將降到20%甚至更低。她認為台灣的生技產業需要20年才能成熟。
樂華醫藥(PharmaEssentia)與創新製藥
6.美國在台協會經濟事務辦公室在南港區參觀了兩家生技公司並聽取簡報。樂華醫藥是一家由台裔美國人創辦的，45名員工的公司，主要營銷輔酶 Q10，這個能量藥丸聲稱有抗老功效，他們在日本銷售的輔酶 Q10已經是是日本本土以外最大的外國製造商。樂華醫藥的傑克黃和林蒼生，具有豐富的美國經驗，說他們正在開發一種藥物治療困擾著台灣13%人口的肝炎，該藥物已經成功通過動物(猴子)試驗。他們說，他們在美國的學術導師鼓勵他們回到台灣，開創在地的創新行業，雖然他們的薪水只有在美國的20％。樂華醫藥，由經濟部國發基金資助32％，剩下的資金是由私人來源募得。
台灣微脂體股份有限公司與藥物供給系統
7. 台灣微脂體股份有限公司，如同藥華醫藥，是得益於官方挹注才能成立的新公司。台灣微脂體創立於1997年，目前有50名員工，其中有90%來自台灣，其他則是美國公民。台灣微脂體經理葉志鴻畢業於加州柏克萊大學，說明該公司和美國國家癌症研究機構合作藥物研究，目前正在與一個日本製藥公司談判治療糖尿病的新藥研究。葉志鴻說台灣有專門技術發展投藥系統，可同時減低不便與發揮最大效益。台灣小型的製藥單位也可以客製化，提供特殊藥物少量的生產，但不需要關閉整個生產線，讓這些單位可以依小型的客戶需求身訂作，提供創新的想法與專利，但無需與大藥廠的資產和市佔率競爭。葉志鴻強調，進入全球藥物市場的門檻很高──至少需要五億美元的產值。這在東亞大概只有日本公司可以達到，因為它們有行銷架構和足夠的資金。
合約製造──不適用於生技業
8. 台灣的資訊產業向來基於其創新、合約生產與外包，能夠保持領先的競爭力。然而今日，由於勞力市場更趨競爭，生技企業家正在思考複製資訊產業的成功策略。然而，根據中研院院長翁啟惠，在製藥方面，尋找便宜的勞力並非答案。他並且斷言，要讓製藥產業長期發展，資金獲利的課稅政策必須鬆綁，直到生技創新成功行銷。我方在生技產業的對話者同意，發包到低成本製造商這個方法對生技產業不會有效：長時間投注於研發、每個研發階段的嚴格要求與高成本的藥物試驗需要其他對策。未來世代製造（NGM）是一個新的製造策略，設計來用於為工廠快速更新生產需求的改變，而這必須由可以快速回應客戶需求，具由有高技能的工作人員操作。台灣生技產業需要NGM充分利用小規模生產，以及仔細監控與微調的製造過程，才能達到製藥產業的標準。根據台灣微脂體的葉表示，中國大陸的藥物試驗設施只有馬虎的資料蒐集和分析實作。因此，台灣的生技公司不願用這些試驗與評鑑新藥。然而，即使所有的試驗都完成了，藥物也準備往海外上市銷售了，獲得國外的藥物控管核准依然是台灣尚未嫻熟的部分，因為缺乏智慧財產權與法律專家。
挑戰──教育生技領導者
9. 台灣的教育系統是生技發展的另外一個潛在障礙，肇因於該系統未能調適商業環境的快速變遷，即使是資訊產業也缺乏人才。在1960年後期到1980年代，海外留學的台灣的學生和學術界將主要重心放在科學與工程。然而，在他們把熱情都投注在科學時，忽略了商業和法律研究，也因而缺乏管理與法律專家。因此，很多優秀的台灣發明和專利未能在島內經濟佔一席之地，更別提世界市場。中研院的翁啟惠和Taimed的蔡英文都承認台灣需要智慧財產權專家與行銷策略，研究學者和企業家需要發展出世界觀，思考國內之外的市場。在與國外企業談判時，台灣缺乏全球商業文化專業技術常常成為問題。台灣微脂體的葉志鴻告訴Econoff，在與日本製藥公司談判他們公司研發出的糖尿病新藥是個痛苦的過程，主要是因為不懂日本的商業實務。在付出相當大的努力之後，他終於得到在日本上市行銷該藥物的同意。
結論
10. 生技或許是台灣的未來產業，但如同我方在生技產業的對話人員堅稱，它沒有辦法取代資訊產業，也無法主導台灣未來的工業發展。隨著生技產業擴大，台灣或許可以將資訊產業的力量在生物資訊工程等領域與生技結合。然而，台灣生技產業仍嚴重缺乏建立專利與行銷的橋樑，以即能幫助證實國外使用製造的法律專家。這個問題是台灣產業結構的基本議題，由於傳統上是小型的家族經企業。為了讓產品達到全球市場的標準，主導台灣生技產業的小型、高度專業公司必須尋求製藥大廠合夥。這樣的策略最近讓瑞士製藥巨擘Novaitis與台灣當局簽定發展共同合作的同意書，致力於臨床實驗、藥物研究以訓練。台灣需要吸引生技人才，提供充分的優惠措施留住這些人才，以及說服在這方面具有潛力的研究人才。最重要的是，發展與訓練法律與智慧財產權專家以補足與支持這些研究人才，以確保創新受到保護與行銷。如同Taimed的蔡英文表示，台灣最少需要20年，才能達到使生技產業成熟的階段。
[編輯] 新聞報導和網路討論連結
[編輯] 原文出處
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/12/07TAIPEI2551.html
[編輯] 英文原文
SUBJECT: BIOTECH IN TAIWAN: THE ECONOMY'S NEXT GROWTH ENGINE?
REF: TAIPEI 2545
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. In the 1970s and 80s, official funding and support fostered a Taiwan high technology IT sector that now ranks among the world's most competitive. With the mainland and other low-cost producers offering increased competition, Taiwan authorities have identified biotechnology as a priority field for future economic development. Although Taiwan hopes to develop a biotech industry as quickly as possible, the sector does not yet play a major economic role. On the positive side, Taiwan has the human and technical resources to become a significant player, particularly given a large pool of scientists and researchers both in Taiwan and abroad. Challenges remain, however, in such areas as marketing, intellectual property protection (IPR), corporate culture, and wages that are not always competitive with international standards. In order for Taiwan to exploit its If Taiwan is to nurture a successful biotech sector, new management and production techniques will be required in order to succeed in the rigorously competitive global arena of drug manufacturing and marketing. END SUMMARY.
BACKGROUND
¶2. (SBU) Biotechnology, or biotech, refers to the use of technology based on biology to develop agriculture, food science and medicines. Biotech accounts for up to U.S. $800 billion in product value worldwide, of which Taiwan contributes only 0.6 percent, or about $4.7 billion, compared with $200 billion for Japan, $15.9 billion for Singapore, and $7.5 billion for South Korea. Taiwan is trying hard to catch up with its regional competitors. Although venture capital is arguably the main ingredient in the successful U.S. biotechnology sector, Asian economies have often pursued official policies designed to nurture biotech development. Taiwan's new incentive program, for example, gives biotech start-ups a five-year tax holiday on 35 percent of their profits, a benefit not enjoyed by any other industry. Other incentives include low-cost housing for returning expatriate Taiwan scientists, to help counter the high cost of living in cities such as Taipei. Overall, Taiwan's National Development Fund (NDF) plans to pump NT $30 billion (about U.S. $907 million) into the biotech sector over the coming year. In addition, certain underlying conditions favor biotech development in Taiwan. Taiwan's research and development (R&D) costs are 30 percent of those in the U.S., for example. Compared with Hong Kong and Singapore, Taiwan has a larger population base and potential research talent pool from which to draw.
TAPPING THE TALENT POOL
¶3. (SBU) DDIR and Econoffs recently visited Academia Sinica (AS), a research institution funded primarily by the Taiwan authorities. Academia Sinica has 24 research institutes covering physical and life sciences and humanities, and is headed by Wong Chi-huey, an MIT graduate and genomics expert who worked at Scripps Research Institute before returning to Taiwan. Wong's interest is in chemical biology and new drugs, and he is the prime mover behind Taiwan's efforts to attract biotech talent back from the U.S. and other foreign countries. Wong noted that although Taiwan excels in the numbers of patents issued, at third in the world, most of its innovative ideas sit idle and un-marketed. To encourage biotech investment, Wong has been instrumental in helping push Taiwan's biotechnology incentive program through the legislature. In addition to financial incentives, he observed, researchers employed at official agencies can also transfer their knowledge to private companies to help develop new drugs. Unlike the IT sector, said Wong, business partners can be added at different stages of drug development. To help compensate for Taiwan's comparatively low wage levels when compared with the U.S. and other more developed economies, Wong said AS pays researchers returning from abroad 17.5 months of salary a year, and also provides low-cost housing.
MOEA-FUNDED R&D AND INVESTMENT
¶4. (SBU) Taiwan's biotech effort is being directly financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). The Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB) is an example of MOEA-funded research. DCB is a non-profit agency with a staff of 400, including 300 researchers. DCB President Wu Ming-chi told us that the agency has two major facilities which provide protein drug research and toxicology analysis to the private sector, generating funds for its own research. Unlike its sibling, the Industrial and Technical Research Institute, DCB does not focus on medical device development. Instead, its major focus is drug development, including small molecular drugs and Chinese herbal medicine. While DCB does research, its other arm, the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries Program Office (BPIPO), promotes investment by both local and foreign industry. In order to avoid conflict of interest perceptions, MOEA does not get directly involved in the biotech industry. MOEA-funded biotech companies include Taimed, PharmEssentia, and about a dozen others.
TAIMED LEADING THE WAY INTO THE NEW BIOTECH
¶5. (SBU) Taimed is a newly-formed company specializing in anti-virus drug development. It has a staff of experienced researchers from overseas, and former Vice Premier Tsai Ying-wen is its president.'Tsai, a graduate of Cornell and the London School of Economics, exemplifies the new blood that Taiwan is relying on to remain competitive in the world market.In a recent meeting with DDIR and econoffs, Tsai was optimistic about Taiwan's ability to excel in biotech. She cited the vast pool of middle-aged Taiwan scientists in the U.S., including world-renowned HIV/AIDS drug researcher David Ho who is on Taimed's board. With their expertise and experience, they could provide the impetus for Taiwan to develop a sector with as much potential as high technology. Taimed recently concluded an agreement with U.S. drug giant Genentech to develop the anti-AIDS drug TNX355, which blocks the entry of the HIV virus into human cells. The drug is now undergoing phase two of clinical trials. Once the drug passes clinical trials in the U.S., and is reviewed and approved, it will be marketed in Japan, Europe and the U.S. In Taimed's case, MOEA provided 40 percent of initial costs to help the company begin recruiting and set up an office. Tsai said Taimed's first priority is new drug development,
SIPDIS followed by medical devices and next-generation manufacturing. Although the government share of the company now stands at 40 percent, Tsai said the level will eventually be reduced to 20 percent or less. Tsai believes at least 20 years is needed for Taiwan's biotech sector to mature.
PHARMAESSENTIA AND INNOVATIVE NEW DRUGS
¶6. (SBU) Econoff visited two companies in the Nankang area to get their insights on biotech developments. PharmaEssentia, a company with 45 staff founded by a group of Taiwan-Americans, is marketing CoQ10, an energy pill claimed to have rejuvenating properties. PharmaEssentia recently marketed its CoQ10 in Japan, and is the largest manufacturer of CoQ10 outside Japan. PharmaEssentia's Jack Hwang and Jason Lin, both with extensive experience in the U.S., said they are developing a drug to combat hepatitis, which afflicts thirteen percent of the population of Taiwan. The drug has already undergone successful clinical trials with monkeys. They said their former U.S. academic mentors encouraged them to return and get in on the ground floor of an innovative new industry, although their salaries here are only 20 percent of what they earned in the U.S. Pharmaessentia is 32 percent funded by the National Development Fund, and the rest is from private sources.
TLC AND DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS
¶7. (SBU) Taiwan Liposome Corporation (TLC), like Pharmaessentia, is a newly established company which has benefited from official help in getting started. TLC was founded in 1997 and currently has a staff of 50, 90 percent of whom are from Taiwan, with the remainder US citizens. TLC's manager, George Yeh, a UC Berkeley graduate, said the company has cooperated on drug research with the National Cancer Institute in the U.S., and is now negotiating with a Japanese drug company to develop a drug to cure diabetes. Yeh said Taiwan has the technical expertise to develop drug delivery systems that will maximize effectiveness while reducing inconvenience. Taiwan's small drug production units also can custom-manufacture small batches of particular drugs without having to shut down an entire production line, allowing them to tailor production to the requirements of its clients, mostly small, R&D-heavy companies with innovative ideas and patents, but without the market access or assets to compete with the drug majors. Yeh emphasized that the entry bar for the global drug market is high--a minimum of $500 million USD in product value, which among East Asian companies Japanese firms are best positioned to attain, since they have the marketing structure and financial wherewithal.
CONTRACT MANUFACTURING -- NOT FOR BIOTECH
¶8. (SBU) Taiwan's IT sector has been able to keep ahead of the competition due to its innovation, contract production and outsourcing. Today, as labor markets become increasingly competitive, biotech entrepreneurs are considering duplicating the strategies that proved successful in the IT sector. According to Academia Sinica's Wong, however, when it comes to drug production, finding cheaper labor is not the answer. He also asserted that given the long developmental phase of drugs, tax policy needs be relaxed on capital gains until biotech innovations have been marketed. Our interlocutors in the biotech sector agreed that contracting out to the lowest-cost manufacturer will not work in the biotech sector, where long R&D times, stringent requirements at every phase of development, and the high cost of drug testing require a different approach. Next Generation Manufacturing (NGM), a new manufacturing strategy designed to quickly reconfigure factories for changing production demands, must be operated by highly-skilled workers which can quickly respond to customer needs. Taiwan's biotech industry will need NGM to fully exploit smaller-scale production, as well as closely monitor and fine-tune manufacturing processes in order to meet the high requirements of drug production. According to TLC's Yeh, mainland drug testing facilities suffer from lax data collection and analysis practices. As a result, biotech firms in Taiwan are reluctant to use them for drug testing and evaluation. However, even after all the tests are done and the drug is ready to be marketed overseas, obtaining foreign regulatory approval is an art that Taiwan has not yet fully mastered, given the lack of IPR and legal experts.
EDUCATING BIOTECH LEADERS -A CHALLENGE
¶9. (SBU) Taiwan's educational system is another potential impediment to biotech development because it has not fully adapted to the rapidly changing business environment and cannot always staff even the needs of its IT sector. Taiwan's students and academics focused mostly on the sciences and engineering when they went overseas to study in large numbers from the late 1960s through the 1980s. However, in their zeal to pursue the sciences, they typically did not focus on business and legal studies, resulting in a shortage of managerial and legal experts. As a result, many of Taiwan's good inventions and patents do not make it into the island's economy, much less onto the world market. Both Academia Sinica's Wong and Taimed's Tsai acknowledge that Taiwan needs IPR experts and marketing strategies, and its researchers and businessmen need to develop a world view and think beyond their local market. In negotiating with foreign entities, Taiwan's lack of expertise with global business culture often comes to the fore. George Yeh of TLC told econoff that he underwent excruciating negotiations with a Japanese drug company over a diabetes drug his company had developed, mainly due to lack of understanding of Japanese business practices. After considerable effort, he was finally able to conclude an agreement allowing the drug to be marketed in Japan.
CONCLUSION
¶10. (SBU) Biotech may be touted as Taiwan's future, but as our interlocutors in the biotech industry asserted, it will neither supplant the information technology (IT) sector nor dominate Taiwan's future industrial development. As biotech expands, Taiwan could combine its IT strength with biotech in such areas as bioinformatics or computational biology. Serious deficiencies remain in Taiwan's biotech aspirations, however, including the inability to bridge the divide between patents and marketing, and the lack of legal experts to help certify products for use overseas. This problem goes to the fundamental issue of Taiwan's corporate structure, which has traditionally been composed of small family-run businesses. In order to see their product reach global markets, the small, highly-specialized firms which dominate Taiwan's biotech sector have to seek partners with the drug majors. This strategy recently led Swiss drug giant Novartis to sign an agreement with Taiwan authorities to develop biotech through cooperative efforts on clinical trials, drug research, and training. Taiwan needs to attract biotech talent, provide sufficient incentives to retain that talent, convince researchers of the sector's potential and, most importantly, develop and train legal and IPR experts to complement and support research talent by ensuring innovations are protected and marketed. As Taimed's Tsai indicated, it may take at least 20 years for Taiwan's biotech industry to reach maturity. YOUNG
