“Patients chronically infected with HBV are unable to clear the viruses because of ineffective antiviral immunity,” said Chen. Elixiron is developing novel immunotherapeutics to reinvigorate antiviral immunity to cure chronic HBV. The company’s first investigational new drug under the United States Food and Drug Administration is anticipated in 2019.

The company takes a similar immunological approach to conquering cancer. Despite the unprecedented durable response rates observed with immune checkpoint blockades, efficacy is limited in the majority of treated patients by a key barrier — the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

By utilizing a translational medicine approach, Elixiron’s scientists have identified key immunosuppressive cytokines from the microenvironment of immunologically cold tumors, which drive immune resistance and cancer metastasis.

“We are committed to the development of revolutionary immunotherapies, which target the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and harness the full power of the immune system to fight cancer,” said Chen.

“By 2021, we aim to become a biotechnology rising star with two clinical stage immunotherapeutics in development to help win the battle against both HBV and cancer.”

www.elixiron.com

“It is our responsibility to lead by example,” said Fan. “We have invested heavily in research and development and have collaborated with world-class global brands in both supply chain and environmental initiatives. For the Oceans is a program that recycles ocean-found plastic bottles to produce sportswear and fashion items. We collaborated with Coca-Cola to develop the world’s first 100 percent Bio-PET bottle launched at Expo Milano 2015 and also unveiled the first 100 percent Bio-PET polyester shirt.”

Japan is FENC’s second-largest foreign market for PET products. As a country passionate about environmental awareness and sustainability, the demand for recycled products in Japan has grown substantially over the past decade.

In April 2013, FENC entered into a joint-venture partnership with Ishizuka Glass Co., Ltd. to establish the Far Eastern Ishizuka Green PET Corporation (FIGP). The company, based in Japan, produces and distributes recycled PET products.

“We expect FIGP’s current production capacity of 35,000 metric tons of recycled PET to double within two years,” said Fan. “Almost 85 percent of consumer waste is recycled in Japan and the Japanese understand the importance of sustainability, just as we do. Looking forward, our mission is to continue innovating and investing in the development of high-quality recyclables and bio-based materials for the betterment of environments in Taiwan, Japan and around the world.”

www.fenc.com

Japan is a world leader in research and development of small molecule drugs and cell therapy and is now taking steps to strengthen its biologics development.

In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration historically approved the first two products of CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor) cell therapy and the first product of gene therapy. “We expect to see more efforts and activities devoted to these fields in Japan, while TFBS is targeted to provide services of GMP (good manufacturing practice) virus production and testing in 2018,” explained Yuan.

TFBS aims to become a center of excellence for virus testing and production in Asia. Sixteen percent of TFBS’s clients are Japanese — Yuan aims to increase this to 50 percent in the next two years in line with the development of Japan’s biopharmaceutical industry.

“While meeting the biological safety and quality requirements of Japan’s regulatory authorities, TFBS is committed to strengthening our relationships with our Japanese clients,” concluded Yuan.

“In the coming age of cell and gene therapy, we look forward to providing our Japanese clients with solutions for their needs in the production of viruses at our cutting-edge GMP-compliant P2 facility.”

www.tfbsbio.com

In 2018, Toshiba Group, Japan, announced its intention to focus on four primary business activities: social infrastructure, energy, electronic devices and digital solutions.

Today, these four business units are a good fit within the Taiwanese government’s technology-driven 5+2 Major Innovative Industries policy.

As Taiwan strengthens its international role in next-generation technology development, TTIP’s restructuring and transference of resources has allowed the company to focus on areas such as the “internet of things” and artificial intelligence.

“We believe Taiwan is well-positioned on the global stage to become a leading player in the development of future technologies,” said Masao Daira, TTIP president.

“As with our engineers in Japan, our team here in Taiwan is extremely skilled. We made a decision to ensure our Taiwanese workforce is fluent in Japanese and this has led to strong communication and collaboration between departments.”

Daira is committed to strengthening TTIP’s role as a bridge and facilitator between Japan and Taiwan. “I enjoy working and living in Taiwan and my experiences have led me to believe that Japan and Taiwan have a great deal in common,” shared Daira.

“TTIP will play a role in contributing to this unique relationship while continuing to support our Toshiba businesses across the region in the development of industry-leading technologies.”

www.toshiba.co.jp

In terms of rejuvenation, TTL has reached out to Taiwan’s young talent pool to recruit, invest in and train outstanding employees.

“Our desire to bring young people into the TTL family has given us a new spark and dynamic energy across all divisions of the company,” said Wu.

In addition to investing in people, TTL has grown its product range. Earlier this year, the company’s Sweet Touch Fruit Series range of beer beverages was expanded to include two new flavors — green tea and melon. Both products have become consumer favorites in Taiwan and embody TTL’s differentiation strategy.

The upgrading of TTL’s wineries, such as its famous Nantou Winery, falls under asset renovation. By integrating characteristics of local Taiwanese culture into each TTL winery, the company has been able to attract visitors, increase its brand recognition and play a role in Taiwan’s tourism industry.

TTL’s final and most important strategy is internationalization. Currently, mainland China, North America and Japan are TTL’s largest foreign markets. Wu’s vision is to transform TTL into a truly global company and deliver products to consumers across the globe.

“Our medium-term goal is to ensure TTL becomes a recognized brand name in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Wu. “Eventually, we want our products to be enjoyed globally and just as Taiwanese culture is becoming increasingly popular around the world, internationalization is our long-term goal. We want TTL to be seen as a bridge between Taiwan and the rest of the world.”

Japan will play a key role in this global strategy. In recent years, demand for the company’s Shaohsing Wine, Omar Whisky and Taiwan Beer has increased significantly in Japan.

As trends in Japanese liquor consumption change, the consumer market for young adults is becoming dominated by beer and low-alcoholic beverages. TTL is excited to introduce new fruit beers to the Japanese market in addition to its already popular range of products sold across the country.

“Our Omar Whiskey has won a number of international awards over the years and was successfully introduced to the Japanese market last year,” concluded Wu. “The Japanese and Taiwanese consumer markets share many similarities, particularly when it comes to high-quality products such as ours. As we develop our brand in Japan and the rest of the world, we are excited about the future. We look forward to strengthening TTL’s international business through strong partnerships and our desire to deliver guaranteed Taiwanese quality to the world.”

www.ttl.com.tw/en

“Companies and research teams in critical industries need to place their trust in the highest-quality precision measuring equipment,” said Tomoo Tanaka, chairman and general manager of Mitutoyo Taiwan.

“Just as our customers place their faith in our products, it is our responsibility to repay that trust by ensuring they have access to the latest Mitutoyo solutions and services.”

Before and after-sales services are the backbone of Mitutoyo’s success in Taiwan. With over 10 distributors and three showrooms across the country, existing and new customers have direct access to Mitutoyo products and services.

The recently renewed M3 Solution Center in Taipei provides customers with access to the latest Mitutoyo equipment, services and customized solutions.

“We are proud of our contribution to Taiwan’s industrial and economic development and involvement in the advanced, scientific research taking place here,” concluded Tanaka.

“Taiwan’s economy is well-positioned to face global, economic challenges and as a Japanese company active in Taiwan, we understand the importance of strengthening our partnerships here. We will ensure Mitutoyo Taiwan continues to support existing customers while establishing new business ties with small, medium and large enterprises as they drive Taiwan’s vibrant economy.”

www.mitutoyo.com.tw

“By defining the correct product mix and delivering technology-driven innovations, we have established very strong relationships with original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, contract manufacturers, value-added resellers, retailers and distribution partners.”

The company delivers hard disk drives (HDDs), discrete semiconductors, high-end microcontrollers, application- specific integrated circuits and other products for personal computers, power supply, automotive, multimedia, industrial, server and data center application solutions.

Today’s smartphones, computers, tablets, digital cameras, medical devices, networking and enterprise applications rely on the company’s semiconductor and storage product solutions.

Delivering industry-leading HDDs for enterprises and consumers, one product represents the company’s high-technology innovations.

To support enterprise-storage solution providers as they look to achieve their total cost of ownership objectives, Toshiba introduced the world’s first and only 14 terabyte HDD — the MG07ACA Series — at the end of last year.

“Companies require reliable data-storage solutions and innovations in cloud-computing, and the “internet of things” and data center management are driving the industry,” said Yagi.

TOSHIBA is constantly innovating, providing solutions and building strong relationships with clients.

“Our consumer market in Taiwan has always been very strong as we continue to focus on developing this important part of business,” said Yagi. “With technology-driven advancements in information technology and automation, we are also looking to grow our industrial client base as we expand our total business.”

In infrastructure systems, TET’s commitment to Taiwan can be seen in the successful delivery of advanced solutions to public sector infrastructure projects undertaken in partnership with Taiwanese companies.

“We are looking forward to the future,” concluded Yagi. “Our intention is to continue to innovate while strengthening our partnerships and contributing to the dynamic economy of Taiwan.”

www.toshiba.semicon-storage.com