Taiwan bets on Biotech as a strategic pillar in 2026 economic vision

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) placed biotechnology at the heart of Taiwan's 2026 outlook, framing the sector as both an engine of growth and a new pillar of national resilience alongside semiconductors and defense.

Biotechnology has emerged as a central theme in Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's vision for 2026, reflecting a deliberate shift in industrial policy toward sectors that combine economic value, social impact and strategic significance.

In his 2026 New Year's Address and in interviews late last year, Lai repeatedly underscored biotech and healthcare as one of Taiwan's key industries, one that may grow into the next TSMC in terms of significance, positioning it alongside high-tech and the defense sector as a driver of long-term competitiveness.

President Lai used the framing repeatedly. By likening biotechnology to a future “Guardian Mountain” of Taiwan's economy, a term traditionally reserved for semiconductors and TSMC in particular, Lai signaled that biotech is no longer a peripheral growth story, but a national priority with implications for economic security, public health and international engagement.

From policy foundations to market scale

Taiwan's biotech ambitions are underpinned by a steadily maturing policy and regulatory environment.

Over the past several years, the government has enacted legislation covering regenerative medicine, cell and gene therapies, and the use and governance of health data. These measures aim to shorten development timelines, clarify compliance pathways and encourage private investment.

Lai said, at the Institute for Biotechnology and Medicine Industry in 2025, that the world is entering a critical juncture in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), and that with sustained collective effort, Taiwan's biomedical sector can seize this moment.

By continuously refining the regulatory environment, easing restrictions on fundraising and investment, building out biotech park clusters, and strengthening talent cultivation and real-world testing platforms, Lai said the industry would be well positioned not only to anchor itself in Taiwan, but also to expand globally and reach international markets.

With these conditions in place, Lai added, biotechnology has the potential to become another giant within Taiwan's economy, one that is on par with semiconductors.

He further noted that the Regenerative Medicinal Act and the Regenerative Medicinal Products Act were passed into law in June 2024, laying a stronger institutional foundation for the development of regenerative medicine in Taiwan.

In many of Lai's past remarks, he mentioned that the sector's value chain, from research and clinical trials to manufacturing and commercialization, has reached a level of maturity that could push total industry output toward the NT$1 trillion mark (approximately US$31.9 billion) in the coming years.

This projection reflects both organic growth and the government's expectation that biotech can replicate, at least in part, the scale and global relevance achieved by Taiwan's semiconductor industry.

Healthcare innovation as economic driver

Biotechnology's role in Taiwan's 2026 outlook is closely linked to healthcare innovation. During Lai's presidency, he repeatedly encouraged practitioners in the industry to keep being innovative when addressing those in biotech.

Lai also highlighted progress in cancer treatment funding, and infectious disease control, including Taiwan's early achievement of hepatitis C elimination targets set by the World Health Organization (WHO), during his New Year's Address of 2026.

These advances are not framed solely as public health achievements, but as catalysts for industrial development. Smart healthcare, biomedical data applications and AI-assisted diagnostics are increasingly integrated into Taiwan's broader technology ecosystem, creating opportunities for exportable solutions and international collaboration.

In fact, in early December of 2025, Lai called it a pivotal phase in the development of Taiwan's medical technology sector. He said the medical technology industry is building on a solid foundation laid over recent years.

Taiwan, he further noted, not only boasts a high standard of medical care and a biotechnology industry of considerable scale, but also enjoys a rare convergence of strengths in semiconductors, AI, Internet of Things, cloud computing and 5G communications.

The integration of these advanced technologies ranging from smart healthcare, regenerative medicine and precision medicine, he said, has created favorable conditions for the sustained growth of Taiwan's medical technology industry and the betterment of improved public health, strengthened national resilience.

Lai's emphasis on the sector, in a way, reflects the fact that biotech is a rare convergence of social benefit and commercial potential, a field that can improve population health while anchoring high-value jobs and research capacity at home.

Kelly Seagraves, Vice President of National Security and International Affairs at Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) also stated at BIO Asia-Taiwan 2025, “Biotech is not just growing, it is booming, particularly here in Taiwan.”

She noted that the sector's expansion depends on robust research support, funding and global collaboration, underlining its dual role in advancing health outcomes and economic opportunity.

A complement to semiconductors and defense

In articulating his 2026 prospect, Lai has repeatedly paired biotechnology with the defense industry as a dual engine of resilience. While defense addresses immediate security concerns, biotech contributes to longer-term national strength through innovation, supply chain autonomy and demographic sustainability.

This dual-track approach may reflect Taiwan's assessment of an increasingly uncertain global environment, where economic resilience is inseparable from strategic preparedness in an increasingly complex global economy.