PiVOT to form links with Taiwan biotech companies

Source: Manila Economic and Cultural Office

Taipei, July 29, 2022 (CNA) Filipino healthcare information management companies are spearheading the Philippine pavilion at a biotechnology trade show in Taipei with the goal of forging partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and other enterprises in Taiwan.

At the 2022 BIO Asia-Taiwan International Conference and Exhibition, which opened on Thursday, two Philippine companies are among the 550 exhibitors from some 15 countries that are seeking to explore business opportunities with Taiwan’s biotech sector, according to the event organizers.

Anthony B. Rivera, director for commercial affairs at the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC-Taipei), said he is looking to develop engagements with the Taiwan market as it connects to other global markets engaged in health information management services (HIMS).

“The Philippines is known globally as a significant source for quality and innovative healthcare related services. This is a great opportunity to promote our bio and healthcare related capabilities to the major players in the Asian healthcare value chain,” Rivera said.

The Philippine companies, Pointwest Technologies Inc. and Pi Health Inc.-PiVOT CRO, featured curated healthcare solutions and services such as clinical trial management for drugs and medical devices, revenue cycle management, end-to-end pharmacovigilance services, clinical data management, cloud migration, and robotic process automation services among others as required by global pharmaceutical, biotechnology and contract research companies, according to PTIC-Taipei.

Juanloz L. Botor from healthcare information technology company Pointwest Technologies told CNA that it was the first time his company was attending BIO Asia-Taiwan and that he was looking for companies to collaborate with in terms of sharing their technology capabilities and expertise.

“And also see if there will be partners that we can work with and probably bring the services of Filipino professionals who are skilled in data management, adverse reaction reporting, and support,” Botor said.

Meanwhile, Pi Health Inc.-PiVOT CRO’s pharmacovigilance and regulatory lead Charles Suarez said that PiVOT is a contract research organization with 10 active studies.

“We hope to make it big here in Taiwan, even though PiVOT is a startup but can show them the ability of PiVOT to support international trials, international pharmacovigilance, and data management,” Suarez told CNA.

The HIMS sector is projected to see its revenue grow by 7.3 percent to 10 percent to US$5 billion in 2022, according to the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) under the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry.

The Philippines aims to become a destination for integrated services for voice and non-voice, as well as clinical and non-clinical trials of which the local sector is expanding to areas such as life sciences, robotics, and big data to fully support a proactive and world-class end-to-end customer service experience, according to EMB Director Christopher Lawrence S. Arnuco.

“The Philippine service providers have showcased an innate culture of care and capabilities and this is why we aim to venture in new markets starting off with Taiwan,” Arnuco said.

Bio Asia Taiwan, held from July 27-31 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, also features internationally renowned speakers, forums and workshops, and one-on-one business meetings.

The event brings together biotechnology and pharmaceutical executives and investors from North America, Europe, and Asia, according to information on the event’s website.