Manufacturing for the region

Taiwan’s location in Asia and its established trade links with Japan, Korea and South East Asia have allowed it to gain a foothold in manufacturing medical devices for the region. Due to the relatively young age of the industry, most of the manufacturing revolves around safety syringes, medical disposables, blood glucose monitors, electronic and infra-red thermometers, and home use medical appliances. The low costs of production and quality proven manufacturing standards have allowed Taiwanese companies to establish a foothold in these sectors. With no lack of talents and funding, Taiwan’s medical device industry has around 397 medical device companies, employing more than 14,000 people in Taiwan alone. Furthermore the small domestic demand and market size in Taiwan adds an incentive for medical device manufacturers to market their wares abroad.

Moving forward towards value added research & development

The trend of increasing numbers of non-communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes, cancer and ischaemic heart disease, there is active research in the growth areas of medical devices like cardiovascular stents, drug therapeutic devices, and non-invasive technologies. The majority of start up companies in Taiwan and Asia Pacific follows the path of US companies, by being spin-offs from government-linked or university-based research centers. In Taiwan, the Industrial Technology & Research Institute (ITRI) is considered the leading research organization. ITRI is a government backed entity with more than 6,000 researchers under its wings and an operational budget of US$550 million. Under the ITRI, the Biomedical Engineering Center (BMEC) specializes in the research of biomedical research and technology development. On top of that, Taiwan has launched a National Nanotechnology Initiative starting in 2003, with pledges to pump in US$667 million over 6 years till 2009. This shift indicates Taiwan’s push to move up the value chain in medical technology research by focusing its research work on areas like Nano-Biomaterials, Miniaturized Biomedical & Therapeutic Systems, and Opto-electronics Modules and Sensors.

Medical Device Company with growth potential

Medical device companies in Taiwan can generally be classified under 5 major classifications: 1) Home diagnostic and medical devices, 2) Surgical and therapeutic devices, 3) Medical disposables, 4) Prosthetic devices and 5) In-vitro diagnostic devices. However, from the data by the Imports & Exports division of the Republic of China (ROC) Customs, it is seen that the majority of medical devices exported from Taiwan is focused on powered mobility aids and 5 out of the top 10 medical device exporters are in this business. It is estimated that Taiwanese manufacturers supply up to 70% of the global market for powered mobility aids.
New entrants into the top 10 like GaleMed and Apex Medical Corp., both of which produces a range of devices from respiratory aids to nebulizers and electrical muscle stimulation systems. Moreover, lower end manufacturers of medical gloves and disposables like Canopus Medical Supply Co. Ltd. have shown to drop in the rankings table, indicating the move of the industry towards higher value products and devices.

Several Taiwan companies have in recent years established themselves as one of the leading medical device companies. Several of these companies have established an international team with marketing offices and distributors spread worldwide.

New start-up companies are also banking on more innovation and a higher degree of research, allowing them to come up with high quality devices which will allow them to compete on equal grounds with global companies.

Taiwan’s Standing In The Global Medical Device Industry

Medical device companies in Taiwan have conducted more manufacturing activities than research and development over the past few years. However with the increasing competition and costs of production, these companies are now expanding research facilities and investing in them. Though none of the medical device companies in Taiwan can match the might of industry giants like Johnson & Johnson or Tyco Healthcare, they are looking into developing joint ventures with companies abroad and expanding their reach beyond Asia Pacific. GaleMed, for example, have an ongoing partnership with Hudson RCI based in the US on developments for their respiratory aids devices, and BioInvigor counts a US-based orthopedic company, Exactech as one of its partners for its products. Such partnerships will help Taiwanese smaller companies to gain an edge in overseas market and add market visibility.

Taiwan medical equipment exports have notched-up double-digit growth every year since 200 and are expected to reach US $ 895.6 million in 2006 , up by 15 % compared with 2005. Meanwhile , Taiwan’s Import of medical equipment is estimated to reach US $ 1.2 billion in 2006 , up by 3.4% from the previous year.

TAITRA : Non-Profit Trade Promotion Organization

The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the foremost non-profit trade promotion organization in the Republic of China on Taiwan (R.O.C.), was founded in 1970 to help promote foreign trade. Jointly sponsored by the government and the industrial as well as commercial associations, TAITRA assists Taiwan businesses and manufacturers to reinforce their international competitiveness and to cope with the challenges they face in the foreign markets. In addition, TAITRA undertakes many initiatives to help foreign businesses establish a wider presence in Taiwan.

Over the past decades, TAITRA has developed a well coordinated trade promotion and information network composed of a staff of over 600 trained specialists stationed in its headquarters in Taipei, four local branch offices in Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung and over 30 overseas branch offices worldwide. In association with its sister organizations, the Taiwan Trade Centr, Inc. (TTC), the Taipei World Trade Centre (TWTC), and the Far East Trade Services, Inc. (FETS), TAITRA does everything possible to adapt its trade promotion strategies to the changing international conditions .Its major functions include: Market Development, Trade Information Services, Exhibitions, Design Promotion, Convention Services, Trading Hub Services and Trade Education.More further details regarding the organization is available on its website: www.taiwantrade.com.tw (Email:taitra@taitra.org.tw)

TWTC’s Mumbai Office is a liason office of Taipei World Trade Center, a sister organisation of TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council) the foremost non-profit trade promotion organisation. The organization website is: www.taiwantrade.com.tw/ www.taitra.org.tw (Email: Mumbai@taitra.org.tw)

(Abstracted from article “Taiwan’s Leap in Medical Device Manufacturing”
By Andrew Wee, Research Analyst, Medical Devices, Healthcare, Singapore, Ref: http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/market-insight-top.pag?docid=58911433)

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