Taiwan Liposome Company enters Japanese market, Focus Reports
Release Date: 2010-10-14
The Taiwanese government has highlighted the pharmaceutical sector as a key area for sustainable growth in Taiwan, and demonstrated awareness of its role in the industry’s advancement by shaping favourable legislation and investing in the market. “Our president has promised to increase healthcare expenditure from 6.2% to 7.5% of GDP,” said Chih-Liang Yaung, Minister of Health for the Taiwanese Government.In order to consolidate Taiwan’s potential and ensure the continuity of the government’s efforts to promote healthcare, success stories are needed from the industry.
Georges Yeh, president of the Taiwan Liposome Company (TLC), has one such story to offer his country. TLC was founded in 1997 by Dr. Keelung Hong, whose convictions, according to Yeh, led to the success of the company. Yeh told Focus Reports: “Dr. Hong’s vision for TLC and the niche market in which we operate are the two factors that make our business sustainable.” Indeed, Yeh believes that there are no more than five companies worldwide that specialize in liposome-based product development. Liposome is an artificial microscopic vesicle used to convey vaccines, drugs, enzymes, and other substances to target cells or organs.
Today, TLC collaborates with a Japanese pharmaceutical retailer—Nihon Generic Co.—for the commercialization of ProFlow, an arterial vasodilator and platelet-aggregation inhibitor. Their partnership marks the first time that a drug developed by a Taiwanese company has entered a leading international manufacturing market (Japan is the second-largest pharmaceutical manufacturer in the world, after the USA) under its own brand. According to Yeh, penetrating the Japanese market was extremely hard at first. He explains: “In Japan, in some people’s minds, Taiwan has always been a controlled state and is still perceived as one, so how could a better technology come from there? But once you enter the market, you are there for good. Japanese partners begin to treat you as part of their family and are very reliable.”
Expansion into Japan represents a significant business opportunity for TLC, since the Japanese market for ProFlow is estimated to be 10 billion Taiwanese dollars (233 mln Euros). As part of TLC’s internationalization strategy, Yeh plans to open an office in Japan in the coming years, to directly operate from a local facility. TLC’s achievements in Japan are not only a milestone for the future development of the company, but an inspiration for the whole industry in Taiwan. As opposed to Singapore—where Yeh doubts that the economy will remain sustainable because 95% of the workforce is “exported talent,”—Taiwan has within its territory an indigenous, educated workforce, which has often acquired experience in the U.S., especially in the pharmaceutical industry. On the back of TLC’s success in Japan, Taiwan will soon be able to have “a global reach, with a local touch.”
| Type: | NORMAL |
| Company: | Focus Reports |
| Country: | 瑞士 |