The major problem facing the biotechnology industry in Taiwan is the lack of home-grown initial research which could be patented world wide, and creating an valuation similar to those common in the US. International marketing of pharmaceuticals or the other really innovative biotechnology products is also rather weak. Taiwan's strong suite on the other hand is the highly flexible manufacturing experience which could supply well trained and well-appointed facility for Toll manufacturing or OEM operations. The legal systems and business practice in Taiwan is also fairly open and conforms to normal free economic standard. Panlabs International, a contract research company for culture development with its head quarter in North America, has had a major operation in Taiwan for over 20 years with more than 200 employees, is a good example.

On the other hand, China's advantage is its internal huge market potential, which could support most of the intensive research required for modern biotechnology business.Products that are most in demand include immunoresponse modulators such as Interleukin II, Hepatitis C vaccine, Cancer marker proteins and Mab thereof, and AIDS therapeutic agents based on traditional medicine.

A company could survive fairly well by selling into the domestic market without ever having to look at an export market. This could eliminate a lot of cost in product review and approval normally associated with foreign government. This is not to say that the review process of PRC government has a lenient standard as compared to those of foreign governments. Specifically, in China the operation cost is significantly lower. China's disadvantage may be that a lot of its research results were not protected properly by filing international patents, hence limiting its market value in the world market.   To successfully recover profits from China, investing companies must understand that the PRC has very different rules than those of a free economy.  Companies must learn the local "rules", and the "Guanxi", or "connections" required to be successful within the system.

The biotechnology business in Taiwan and China reflects the dynamic nature of the the current economic situation in the region.  Regardless of the state of the Asian economy, opportunity abounds for companies who wish to invest in this market.  For additional information on the PRC market, the "1998 edition of PRC Pharmaceutical Industry Database", which provides an extensive overview of the Chineese Biotech market is available for sale at http://www.clba.com.tw.