This year, as COVID-19 impacts the world economy, Taiwan's export of medical devices has also been affected. To help businesses continue to expand their international market during the pandemic, Hsinchu Science Park Bureau of the Ministry of Science and Technology has commissioned Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC) to organize the Taiwan-Europe Medical Device Online Matchmaking Event on December 17th. At the event, five medical device companies from Hsinchu Science Park held one-on-one video meetings with prominent agents and distributors from Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey to expand their international business opportunities.
The online matchmaking event was attended by five medical device companies in the vitro diagnostics and monitoring field: Medimaging Integrated Solution Inc., North-vision Tech. Inc., BROADSIMS Inc., Altek Biotechnology, and Insight Medical Solutions Inc. Their products include the Digital Diagnostic Set by Medimaging, the Multi-parameter Patient Monitor and Wearable Pulse Oximeter by North-vision, the AI-based Verification System (AVS) by BROADSIMS, disposable endoscopes by Altek Biotechnology, and the InsightEyes EGD System by Insight Medical Solutions. The event showed lively discussions throughout. Participants said they were very grateful to the organizers about the event as the online video discussions solved the issue of not being able to expand businesses overseas due to the pandemic. The event assisted manufacturers overcome national boundaries and travel restrictions to resume international marketing activity.
Hsinchu Science Park Bureau stated that the science park has an advantage in the ICT industry, and, in combination with collaborative platforms by NTUH, ITRI, and NARLabs, hosts a comprehensive biotechnology industrial chain for industry, academia, research, and medical sectors, making it the ideal place to develop the precision health industry. In the recent years, the biotechnology industry has seen the explosive growth with over 130 companies moving into the science parks. Even with the global outbreak of COVID-19, revenue in the biotechnology industry reached NTD $12.13 billion from January to October, 2020, up 11.14% over the same period last year, demonstrating Taiwan's prowess in research and development of new technologies and products.
Dr. Chiu-Feng Lin, President of MIRDC, expressed that Taiwan is equipped with many excellent technologies and brands. In 2020, due to the pandemic, many large exhibitions around the world have been canceled or turned into online exhibitions. MIRDC has also been proactive in helping companies expand their businesses outside the country. The online matchmaking event helped businesses develop new business models, provide multinational buyers with new agent options and brand information also establish channels for communications, assisting medical device companies in Taiwan to attract international orders and capture new businesses opportunities in the post-pandemic era.