Animal Biologics Pilot Production Center Gives Taiwan New FootholdAs a result of its outstanding professional performance, the NPUST Animal Biologics Pilot Production Center (動物製劑研究中心) has be selected from among 65 special field research centers at 24 universities to receive grant money from the Ministry of Education’s 2018 Higher Education Sprout Project (高等教育深耕計畫). Also, standing out from a large number of competitors, the NPUST research facility has also been awarded a five year 2.5 billion NTD grant from the Ministry of Science and Technology, standing among research centers from Taiwan University, Tsing Hua University, Chiao Tung University and Cheng Kung University. NPUST’s president, Chang-Hsien Tai pointed out that that tropical agriculture technology is one of NPUST’s special areas of development. Located in the southern Taiwan, NPUST is also a hub for animal husbandry related industries, and has an intimate knowledge on animal vaccinations, diseases prevention, and methods to reduce reliance on antibodies while raising healthy livestock for consumption. In 2003, NPUST established the Animal Vaccine Center (動物疫苗中心), working hard to cultivate talented animal vaccine researchers and conduct in depth research on animal immunization. Winning affirmation of both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology is the result of 10 years of work by the members of the research teams, continuously honing their skills and improving their techniques. In the future, we will continue to make persistent efforts and cooperate with top experts from around the world. In recent years, we have had professional exchanges with the France’s Vibrac Group of France, Canada’s University of Saskatchewan International Vaccine Center and England’s University of St. Andrew. Through technological innovation we are working to internationalize Taiwan’s animal immunization technologies. At the same time, we are equipping students with skills to be competitive in the job market, helping industries to increase output value, and working to maintain Taiwan’s upper hand in agriculture for a better and brighter future. The Animal Biologics Pilot Production Center project host, Wen-Bin Chung, explained that, in 2016, the global animal vaccination production value was worth 6 billion USD, and it is expected to see a 5.8% annual growth rate up through to 2021, at which point it will reach 7.7 billion. In Southeast Asia and China, due to the rapid economic growth, the animal immunization demands are increasing by over 10% per year. Immunization is one of the main targets of promotion in the Council of Agriculture’s (COA) Agricultural Technology Industries Project (農業科技產業計畫). Development of pig vaccinations over the next 5 years, focus will those which are most urgent, necessary, pathogen-specific, and advantageous to regional industries, so that Taiwan will take a leading position, globally, in the field of swine vaccinations. The Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park has also established an animal immunization zone which has attracted many companies, thus this location is turning into a hub for animal immunization R&D. Human, animal and environmental health issues have arisen as a result of globalization, thus, animal vaccinations, disease prevention, improved immunity, and reduced reliance on antibiotics for improved food safety have become part of the responsibility that countries share to maintain the planet and its health. In addition to being a key area of agriculture technology development in Taiwan, immunization technology is also a foothold for the island nation to compete among related international organizations. Additionally, considering the consolidation of and competition within animal health industries worldwide, to be a mainstay in the field of animal immunization means continuously developing and innovating, and in the face of new challenges, rising to the occasion.
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