KO-CHUNG LIN
FOUNDER & CEO PharmaEssentia
The 80s were heady days for Taiwan. Along with Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, it was known as one of the Four Asian Dragons, emerging economies that boomed during this era. Ever since the Taiwanese government has looked to the future, and how best to establish the country as a pioneer in a diversified portfolio of industries. One potential answer was biotech, an opportunity spearheaded by Dr. Fu-Kuen Lin, the inventor of EPO at Amgen. This produced Pharma Essentia, a fully integrated global biopharmaceutical company, established to deliver efficient, safe and cost-effective therapeutic products for the treatment of human diseases. It was founded in 2003 by a group of Taiwanese-American executives and high-ranking scientists from leading U.S. biotechnology and
pharmaceutical companies, including Dr. KoChung Lin, who explained:
“Fu-Kuen Lin saw an opportunity in the biotech industry some 25 years ago and was invited back to Taiwan for further talks. He thought, if we could get sufficient funding and attract some of the world’s best scientists, we would be able to help not only Taiwan but push the industry forward globally.”
Government backing
In 2002, after two decades working as a scientist in the U.S. with companies like Biogen, KoChung returned to his native Taiwan to lobby for funding. Knowing, like his co-founder, that it would be the key ingredient to the success of their operation.
“As the focus shifted from electronics,
we saw a gap in the market. The government was really behind us, as it was trying to promote biotech as a major industry rivalling electronics.”
But the government went a lot further than just promising to back the industry, it also invested in education, training and funding, supporting the entire ecosystem to create tremendous opportunities.
Improving health
“Biotech is much more science-driven than electronics, involving a lot of uncertainty and the unknown,” says Ko-Chung. “The success rate is low. With this in mind, we knew that to increase the success rate of our company and reduce the risk of failure, we would have to pursue an integrated biotech company, together with government involvement.”
The Acter Company provides PharmaEssentia with quality design, construction, installation, as well as ventilation, and our team look forward to continuing this strong and successful partnership for many years to come.
Eric Wang General Manager Acter Co., Ltd.