Taipei, July 26 - Philippine pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are displaying a series of products in Taipei with the goal of forging partnerships with their counterparts and other enterprises in Taiwan.

At the 2019 BIO Asia-Taiwan Conference and Exhibition, three Philippine companies are among the 600-plus exhibitors from some 25 countries that are seeking to form alliances with biomedical scientists, entrepreneurs and investors to expand business opportunities in the Asia Pacific market, according to the event's website.

Michael Alfred V. Ignacio, director of commercial affairs at the Philippine Trade & Investment Center in Taipei, said the Philippine companies can supply products to distributors in Taiwan and help Taiwanese pharmaceutical businesses tap into the market of 104.9 million people in his country.

"We're here to forge alliances and strategic partnerships and also to look at the possibility of marketing our own products," he told CNA. "The companies are also open to manufacturing or licensing Taiwanese pharmaceutical products for marketing and distribution in the Philippines."

Sonny Bob P. Cardinal, junior manager of business development at Lloyd Laboratories Inc. in the Philippines, said his company is a toll manufacturer that can supply probiotic coffee in sachets or in pods for coffee machines.

Probiotics are unstable in heat, and that is why they are usually infused mainly into cold drinks, he said.

"But we have the technology to maintain the probiotic level in hot beverages, so we came up with this 3 in 1 coffee, even in the form of Nespresso pods," he said.

Another Philippine exhibitor at the show that opened Thursday is Northfield Laboratories Inc., a contract manufacturer that makes mainly herbal supplements for export to the United States, Canada, and Malaysia.

"We are hoping these products can be sold in Taiwan, and that's why we have joined this exhibit, said Evangeline V. Orejola, the company's president and general manager. "At the same time, we hope that Taiwanese companies can also use us to manufacture products for distribution in the Philippines."

One of the company's products on display at the exhibition is a supplement sold under the name Morelac, which is a herbal supplement made from the Moringa oleifera plant, commonly known as the drumstick tree, she said.

Meanwhile, Manila-based Medico Global is also marketing herbal products, made by another Philippine company New Marketlink Pharmaceutical Corp., and is hoping to provide similar services for Taiwanese businesses.

"We know that products developed by Taiwanese companies are of superior quality, incorporate a good manufacturing process, and are consistent in terms of what the drug will deliver to the patient," said Reynaldo P. Bautista Jr., group manager of Medico Global international business segment.

One of the products marketed at the Taipei exhibition by Medico Global is Lagundex, which is made from the leaves of the lagundi plant and is used to treat coughs and asthma, Bautista said.

The exhibition is being held July 25-28 at Nangang Exhibition Hall as part of the BIO Asia-Taiwan Conference and Exhibition, which was organized jointly by the global Biotechnology Innovation Organization and the Taiwan Bio-Industry Association. 

source: http://m.focustaiwan.tw/news/aeco/201907260005.aspx