San Diego, April 5 (CNA) More young talent is needed in Taiwan's biopharmaceutical sector, which has produced good research results recently but remains many steps away from clinical application, an Academia Sinica academician said Tuesday.
The reason it is still far from clinical application is because it requires more efforts from all sides, including the government, which should set regulations, invest capital, offer research funding and assist with technology transfers, Chien Shu (錢煦) told CNA at the annual Experimental Biology meeting in San Diego.
He also highlighted the importance of talent, saying that Taiwanese young people appear unwilling to enter the biopharmaceutical field.
This is a critical problem, and the government must create more jobs to encourage young people to enter the field, said Chien, who is also director of the Institute of Engineering in Medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
The Experimental Biology conference attracts over 14,000 scientists and exhibitors from around the world each year. The meeting includes lectures, symposia, and exhibitions showcasing the latest equipment and supplies in life science.
The Taiwan-based Tang Prize Foundation signed a cooperation agreement with the Experimental Biology organizers in March last year to hold a Tang Prize Lecture series at the meeting each year.
This year, as part of the Tang Prize Lecture series, prominent Japanese scientist Tasuku Honjo, winner of the first Tang Prize in biopharmaceutical science, gave a speech on immunotherapy.
Tang Prize Foundation CEO Chern Jenn-chuan (陳振川) said the winners of the second Tang Prize are expected to be announced over a period of four days from June 18-21, while an award ceremony will be held Sept. 25 in Taipei to honor the laureates.
The Tang Prize was established by Taiwanese entrepreneur Samuel Yin (尹衍樑) in 2012 to complement the Nobel Prize and to honor top researchers and leaders in the fields of sustainable development, biopharmaceutical science, Sinology, and the rule of law.
(By Tsao Yu-fan and Christie Chen)
