At the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Chen Chien-jen received a briefing from the National Science and Technology Council on the promotion of precision health as a strategic industry to improve the health and well-being of people of all ages. The premier said that the initiative has produced significant results and helped grow Taiwan's biomedical industry to a market value exceeding NT$1 trillion (US$32.2 billion).
Precision health is one of the Six Core Strategic Industries as set out by President Tsai Ing-wen, the premier said. Through the concerted efforts of ministries and agencies, concrete progress has been achieved in the areas of biomedical clusters, ecosystem development, marketization of new drugs and medical devices, applied digital and smart technologies, precision epidemic prevention technology R&D, and startup incubation. These efforts have boosted overall year-on-year revenue growth, propelling the nation's biomedical sector to a trillion-NT-dollar industry. Taiwan has also placed No. 1 globally for the fifth consecutive year in the 2023 mid-year Health Care Index published by online database Numbeo.
The premier emphasized that the synthesis of innovative science and technology with multidisciplinary perspectives is the path Taiwan must follow to develop the industries of the future. He directed related ministries and agencies to be forward-looking in promoting the growth and flourishing of chip industries for smart medicine and smart agriculture, to achieve a vision of society that ensures health maintenance, disease prevention, diagnostics, therapeutics and long-term care for people of all ages.