The personnel changes at Taiwan Bio-Manufacturing Corporation (TBMC) have been finalized! David Y.H. Chang, formerly a vice president at Roche, has been appointed as CEO. As for the rumored successor to the new chairman, National Resilience's vice chairman Patrick Y. Yang, it is reported that a decision may be made after the new appointment is confirmed after May 20.
In the biotech industry, with the track records of Patrick Y. Yang and David Y.H. Chang in cutting-edge biotech processes, not only will TBMC attract overseas investment, but it will also help propel Taiwan's biotech industry onto the international stage.
David Y.H. Chang, who has been residing in the United States for 37 years, attended the 40th-anniversary celebration of the Biotech Center on the 14th in a low-key manner and unexpectedly encountered many friends from the biotech industry.
David Y.H. Chang stated that he officially assumed the role of CEO of TBMC on the 11th. This time, he bought a one-way ticket back to Taiwan and will depart internationally from Taiwan in the future. He said it felt good to return to Taiwan because when he had a cold and a sore throat, he went to see a doctor and enjoyed Taiwan's National Health Insurance even before starting work.
Both David Y.H. Chang and Patrick Y. Yang, who were born in Taiwan, are renowned for their process technology expertise. Zhang graduated from the Department of Chemical Engineering at National Taiwan University and holds a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His specialties include regenerative medicine, cell/gene therapy, and biomanufacturing (CTDMO). In addition to working at Roche, he previously served as Vice President of Celgene Corporation and Vice President of Global Cell Therapy Manufacturing Enterprises, ranking among the top two positions in the company for Chinese individuals.
In 2019, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) acquired Celgene for approximately $74 billion, making it the largest pharmaceutical transaction ever. David Y.H. Chang then moved to Wuxi Pharmatech, where he served as president and chief technology officer. Due to his extensive practical experience, Zhang spent nearly the first two months after returning to Taiwan dealing with Wuxi Pharmatech's clients and subsequent handover work.
TBMC has established itself in the Taipei Biotech Park, with its main production base in the Zhubei Biomedical Park. It plans to construct an 11-story building, which is scheduled to commence construction this year with the aim of completion and production by 2027. Currently, it has targeted the three major areas for contract manufacturing, including nucleic acid drugs, gene therapy drugs, and cell therapy drugs.
It is understood that the highly anticipated Patrick Y. Yang has not yet agreed to accept the position of TBMC chairman, primarily due to concerns about the domestic political environment. Faced with the reshuffling of the global political and economic situation after the epidemic, Patrick Y. Yang hopes that Taiwan can reduce political bickering and allow the biotech industry to take over from the technology industry in building another cornerstone of the nation.
Resource (Mandarin): 前羅氏副總裁張幼翔 接任TBMC執行長
