National Taiwan University joined hands with National Taiwan University Hospital, Chang Gung University, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, IP Management Promotion & Administration Center at Taiwan (IMPACT), BioMed Commercialization Center, and other academic and research institutions On October 18th to hold “Academia-Industry Matchmaking for Biomedical Industry in the Post-Pandemic Era”. The event attracted 41 inventors and over a hundred companies.
Photo 1: Group photo of event guests (from left to right: Grace Chang, CEO of National Taiwan University, Industry Liaison Office, Li-Ju Wang, Director of BioMed Commercialization Center, Drug Division, Kuang-Hung Hsu, Vice President of Chang Gung University, Pai-Chi Li, Vice President of the Office of Research and Development at National Taiwan University, Ching-Shiun Chen, Dean of Office of Technology Development and Industry Liaison, Chang Gung University, Professor Da-Sheng Lee from IMPACT, Tang-Long Shen, Director of Center of Biotechnology, National Taiwan University)
Due to the severe infectious pneumonia COVID-19's impact on global economic and social development in the past two years, COVID-19 has become the common enemy of the global medical community. How to co-exist with the epidemic has become the new thinking for related industries. Kuang-Hung Hsu, Vice President of Chang Gung University said in his opening speech, "The preparation of epidemic prevention materials, epidemic monitoring, telemedicine, long-term care, as well as the research and development of new drugs and medical products are the most important issues in the global industry at this moment. The biomedical industry is trying different attempts and discussions around the world. Through the gathering of the industry, academia, and research community today, I believe we will create more innovative thinking and business opportunities." Pai-Chi Li, Vice President of the Office of Research and Development at National Taiwan University also said: "The biomedical industry has produced a large number of talents in recent years. A huge amount of industrial capacity has been accumulated thanks to the multilateral cooperation of academic research, clinical research and development, and cross-field cooperation. It has led to today’s matchmaking event. We look forward to enhancing the depth and breadth of academia-industry cooperation through face-to-face discussions among experts from various fields."
The event invited Professor Da-Sheng Lee from IMPACT to talk about the arrangement and analysis of patents related to COVID-19. Prof. Lee provided a detailed analysis of the current status of Taiwan’s patents in key technologies and applications relevant to the epidemic. He pointed out the status of Taiwan's academia in the global patent layout and hoped to provide the industry and other institutes with a more comprehensive understanding and strategic considerations when planning technology development and patents.
This event focused on four topics: epidemic monitoring and care technology, vaccine and pharmaceutical development, biotechnology testing, telemedicine, and medical Internet, where speakers talked about the development and trend of biomedicine in the post-epidemic era from different perspectives. This event also introduced the research and development capabilities of the National Defense Medical Center and National Taiwan University's Biosafety Level 3 Laboratories and invited the National Institutes of Health to introduce the application potential of the national biobank platform in epidemic prevention. Under the threat of the COVID-19 epidemic, the matchmaking event received a lot of interest. Inventors gathered together from across Taiwan, including National Taiwan University, National Taiwan University Hospital, Chang Gung University, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Ming Chi University of Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, National Defense Medical Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Academia Sinica and other government, academic and research institutes. Participants from different fields, such as biomedicine, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals, including Formosa Plastics Group, Formosa Biomedical Technology Corp., Novartis, Panion & BF Biotech Inc., Acer Medical Inc., Level Biotechnology Inc., Excelsior Bio-System Inc., EirGenix, Inc., Well-Together Industrial Ltd., and other well-known companies and venture capital, were also invited to join this matchmaking event.
The host, Tang-Long Shen, Director of Center of Biotechnology, National Taiwan University, said at the end of the event: "The development of the biomedical industry requires long-term work and a huge investment of resources. Today's matchmaking was completed with joint efforts from many parties. It provides a platform for technology inventors to showcase their latest research and development results. The active discussions between the inventors and the on-site guests are expected to enable a closer communication and cooperation between the industry, government, academia, and research parties in the biomedical industry, helping Taiwan biomedical companies to create a new global layout."
Photo 1: Participants having discussions on matchmaking opportunities