15 January, 2019 // Taipei, Taiwan

The global Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) together with the Taiwan Bio-Industry Association (Taiwan BIO) announced today (January 15^th) that this year, from July 24th to 28th, a global Asian Biotechnology Conference—BIO ASIA-Taiwan 2019—will be held in Taipei. This event, the result of a partnership between these two organizations and held in Taiwan for the first time, is expected to attract more than 1,500 people from 25 countries. The exhibition meanwhile will increase in size from its previous rendition as part of the annual 'BioTaiwan' event, to become what is expected to be the largest biotech exhibition in Asia.

The announcement ceremony of BIO ASIA-Taiwan 2019 was hosted by the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, Johnsee Lee. A videotaped message from Jim Greenwood, the President and CEO of BIO, was played in support of the upcoming conference. Taiwan's Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee in his remarks said that BIO ASIA-Taiwan being held in Taiwan was a significant milestone and will be a positive contribution to the development of Taiwan's biomedical industry going forward. Chen expressed his wishes that through the cooperation with BIO that this event will enable the world to see Taiwan and for Taiwan to see the world; in other words, for there to be increased engagement and beneficial interaction between Taiwan and the global biotechnology community.  

With the theme of this year's event to be "Biotech as the Next Growth Engine for Asia", Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, Johnsee Lee, said that as many innovative biomedical advances in the future will be closely integrated with digital technologies, and with the ICT industry being a unique advantage of Taiwan, this year's BIO ASIA-Taiwan conference will showcase Taiwan's digital health advantage in biotechnology and healthcare. Applications such as AI, smart medical devices, precision medicine, etc., will all be showcased as Taiwan takes the opportunity e to encourage its electronics industry leaders to invest resources in biomedicine. Lee also thanked the government for its strong support in facilitating the holding of such a significant conference here in Taiwan.

Thanks to the cooperation of BIO, participants in this year's conference will be utilizing BIO’s renowned one-to-one business partnering platform, creating business opportunities for all participants. BIO also intends to use its vast network of industry contacts and alliances to encourage international and regional delegations to participate in what promises to be an important regional occasion. It is estimated that the numbers of international exhibitors and delegates will increase significantly this year. Importantly, members of BIO’s global media and marketing network are already showing interest in covering this gathering. With the inclusion of a special program of medical seminars and training courses, BIO ASIA-Taiwan will also be targeting the medical professional community and members of local biotechnology and medical associations to become involved. In addition, with the increasing convergence of industry sectors, both Taiwan and global electronics, financial and investment firms will be invited to discovery opportunities by participating in BIO ASIA-Taiwan.

At the exhibition, we expect at least 1,700 booths featuring 600 exhibitors. In addition to expanding its scale, the event this year will feature special exhibition zones: International & Asia-Pacific Biotech; Smart Medical Devices; Precision Medicine; Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine; and Innovation & Enterprise. The exhibition venue will also feature a press area, a business matchmaking venue, and a customized tour guide service.

The Conference & Forum program will feature pertinent business-related topics such a cross-financing, cross-border investment, mergers and acquisitions, regional cooperation models. Biomedical topics covered will include cancer immunotherapy, cell therapy, CAR-T, gene therapy, and regenerative medicine. The latest game changing technologies featured will include artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, the Internet of Things, genetic sequencing, gene editing, liquid biopsies, etc. International experts will be invited to to give presentations on such exciting topics and participate in these forums.

Johnsee Lee, Chairman of the BIO ASIA-Taiwan 2019 Preparatory Committee, remarked that although Taiwan had high-quality medical care and was a leader in the global communications industry, its small domestic market and insufficient resources, meant that it was not easy to develop a truly sustainable biomedical industry. But by taking advantage the opportunity held by BIO ASIA-Taiwan to expand international cooperation and enter global markets, Taiwan will be able to accelerate the development of its biomedical industry.