Mediphar Taipei 2009 Show Report and Taiwan's Biomedical Industry Overview

Other sectors of industry might still be suffering at the hands of fortune, brought on, for the most part, by global economic recession but the biomedical sector is, to coin a phrase, very much alive and well. And Taiwan, in this respect, is no exception. True, in the experience of some companies strutting their stuff at Mediphar Taipei 2009, there have been minor dips in sales. But this is being quickly redressed by the demand from a world market for new high tech products like those from the stable of not a few companies mentioned in our report - Chang Gung Medical Supplies and Equipment Corp., Yih Jiang Enterprise, Chin Kou Medical Instrument Co., Ltd and Po Ye X-Ray manufacturing Corporation. Global and national statistics, as TAITRA Chairman Dr. Chih-Kang Wang, was quick to point out in his remarks at the show's openingceremony on November 5, bear testimony to the continuing good health of the industry.

Estimates by the Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center of the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan (ITRI) indicate a global production value of the biomedical industry (combining pharmaceuticals and medical equipment) will officially surpass US$1 trillion in 2009 ?a 3.8% increase from last year. The medical equipment industry alone accounts for US$256.8 billion, a 6.1% increase from 2008. In Taiwan, exports of medical equipment this year were estimated at NT$32.4 billion, a growth of 5.59% from the previous year. For his part, Pan-Chyr Yang, Chairman of the Formosan Medical Association spoke of the " rapid growth in Taiwan's medical and biotech industry, growth that had ridden on the back of industrialization, internationalization of medical care and outstanding medical technologies developed in Taiwan." Research results in the biotech industry he said were being launched on global markets' to showcase the first rate medical services and R& D capacity of the Island. Now in its 21st year, the exhibition, far from being affected by the economic downturn, actually counted some 295 foreign and domestic companies in 592 booths making it 9% larger than last year. There were eight different medical areas represented, most notably among them, Medical Use of IT and Communications Products; Diagnostic and Medical Equipment and Instruments and Biotech products and Rehabilitation.(the end) (Source: David Monson)

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Air Base Com. Ltd. With its core skills vested in structural design and top notch electric motors Air Base Company, with its original range of products for lifting or transporting the elderly and disabled is already six years into a new and promising market. Most prominent on display at Mediphar, the Stair Climber was something of a star attraction moving effortlessly up and down the stairs with a mini 'caterpillar tractor like' undercarriage. Company VP Peter Cheng modestly attributes the product to a concept introduced by a customer. Although it might not be the most advanced technology "it nevertheless meets a very practical need for the physically challenged" he says. It has a load weight of 110 kg and the ability to climb stairs with a maximum angle of 30 percent at about ten steps every three minutes. " There was an older design already on the market that needed some modification. Air Base engineers tested and re-engineered the motor and fixed the handling control, Cheng explained. Structurally it is based on the concept of a military tank, a heavy duty machine with optimum safety and designed specifically for the medical profession. Other products manufactured by Air Base at its mid-island factory in Feng Yuan include a foNike