Industry, Government, and Academia Join Hands to Launch the “Taiwan Asia-Pacific Hub for Rare Disease Innovation and Treatment” Under the Witness of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, MET and Roche Collaborate to Strengthen Rare Disease Care Resilience by Leveraging Taiwan’s Local Advantages.

The Taiwan Healthcare Industry Excellence Alliance Foundation, in partnership with Roche, held a press conference in Taipei on the 12th to launch the "Taiwan Asia-Pacific Rare Disease Innovative Treatment Center." Witnessed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the event brought together National Taiwan University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Health Friends, and numerous medical and industry partners to officially launch an international cooperation alliance connecting Taiwan's clinical medical, precision testing, innovative treatment, and telecare capabilities, aiming to promote Taiwan as a key center for innovative treatment of rare diseases in the Asia-Pacific region.

Taipei, May 12, under the guidance of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), the Medical Excellence Taiwan, MET, and Roche, together with the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan, held the launch press conference for the “Taiwan Asia-Pacific Hub for Rare Disease Innovation and Treatment.”

This collaboration aims to integrate Taiwan’s profound experience in rare disease care. Representatives from industry, government, and academia, including Minister Chung-Liang Shih, Legislator Cheng-Hsu Wang, MET Chairperson Yu-Ray Chen, and Ahmed Elhusseiny, Area Head of Asia-Pacific, Roche, attended the event.

Experts at the event agreed that Taiwan’s comprehensive rare disease legal framework and environment will serve as an important foundation for strengthening local care resilience and establishing an international medical benchmark.

Advancing Policy and Clinical Practice in Parallel to Deepen “New Southbound Medical and Health Cooperation 3.0”

Patients with rare diseases often face challenges such as long diagnostic pathways and difficulties in accessing treatment resources. To continue responding to government policies and demonstrate Taiwan’s soft power in healthcare, MET and Roche have joined hands to establish this international alliance, marking a flagship milestone as Taiwan’s medical and health cooperation program enters the era of “New Southbound 3.0.”

By sharing Taiwan’s landmark policy experience, such as the “Integrated Medical Platform for Children with Severe, Difficult, and Rare Diseases” and “rare disease new drug reimbursement” promoted by the MOHW, these achievements can be transformed into standardized care reference modules to put professional medical value into practice. 

Legislator Cheng-Hsu Wang pointed out that it has been more than 25 years since Taiwan passed the Rare Disease and Orphan Drug Act in 2000, and the environment has become increasingly mature.  This collaboration systematizes Taiwan’s comprehensive model for early identification and care, while promoting scientific exchange across regions and continuing to strengthen Taiwan’s own resilience in facing highly complex diseases.

Building a One-Stop Cross-Border Medical Ecosystem and Driving a Virtuous Cycle of Real-World Data, RWD

The “Taiwan Asia-Pacific Hub for Rare Disease Innovation and Treatment” will be committed to establishing high-quality care standards in practical operations. MET will serve as the integration hub, coordinating Taiwan’s top hospital resources under the “one-country-multiple-centers” model and establishing a standardized process covering health education promotion, precision testing, innovative treatment assessment, and long-term follow-up.

The value of clinical data lies not only in drug approval, but also in its accumulation and application. MET Chairperson Yu-Ray Chen emphasized that every case is an important partner in Taiwan’s accumulation of real-world data, RWD.

Through systematic clinical feedback, these data will directly deepen Taiwan’s local research and development capacity, ultimately benefiting patients in Taiwan and forming a virtuous cycle of shared medical benefit.

Roche Joins Hands with Taiwan’s Industry, Government, and Academia to Create an “Asia-Pacific Rare Disease Strategic Engine” by Leveraging Local Advantages

Ahmed Elhusseiny, Area Head of Asia-Pacific, Roche, expressed high recognition of Taiwan’s outstanding strengths in the rare disease field. He pointed out that Taiwan has ecosystem advantages such as newborn screening, NBS, a platform supported strongly by the government. Roche is honored to work with Taiwan’s industry, government, and academia to jointly optimize rare disease care pathways.

Diana Liu, General Manager of Roche Taiwan, shared: “Roche has always believed that ‘rare diseases are not rare.’” “There are more than 7,000 rare diseases worldwide, affecting approximately 400 million people, half of whom are children.” “We believe that the core value of innovation should reshape patients’ lives through the close integration of precision diagnosis and innovative medicines.”

She further pointed out that Roche’s long-term commitment to Taiwan’s healthcare environment has been transformed into tangible investment momentum. Over the past three years, Roche has worked with local partners in Taiwan to advance more than 60 clinical trials, publish more than 40 international scientific papers, and provide care to more than 700 patients overall.

In the challenging field of rare diseases, Roche has further demonstrated deep research and development and care capabilities. Over the past three years, Roche has also launched multiple clinical studies and patient support programs in rare diseases, currently protecting nearly 200 patients with rare diseases in Taiwan.

General Manager Diana Liu stated that Roche will continue to serve as a strategic partner in the healthcare ecosystem, working with industry, government, and academia to jointly light up hope for patients.

Integrating National-Level Medical Strength to Build a Core Hub for Rare Disease Treatment in the Asia-Pacific

This press conference also invited international medical teams from medical centers including National Taiwan University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, and Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital to share real-world treatment cases.

At the same time, telemedicine provider EUCARE shared smart care applications, explaining how it assists New Southbound countries in introducing digital healthcare solutions and fully demonstrating Taiwan’s integrated clinical, institutional, and technological strengths in the field of rare diseases.

The establishment of the international alliance of the “Taiwan Asia-Pacific Hub for Rare Disease Innovation and Treatment” represents not only the export of medical technology, but also an important symbol of Taiwan’s medical brand entering the international stage.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that it will continue to promote institutional alignment and deepen cooperation in the future, transforming Taiwan’s medical strengths into an important force for advancing regional health equity.