chugai

At BIO Asia–Taiwan 2025, Plenary Session 3 Panel Discussion brought together leading voices in pharma, biotech, and clinical innovation to explore “The Value of Innovation for a Healthier Taiwan.” Moderated by Dr. Johnsee Lee, Chairman of BIO Asia–Taiwan 2025, the panel examined how innovative science, policy alignment, and cross-sector collaboration are shaping Taiwan’s health ecosystem. Panelists included Yuji Habara, President & General Manager of Chugai Pharma Taiwan; Tina Graves, VP and General Manager of GSK Taiwan; Sayaka Fukura, Deputy Head of the Clinical Operations Division at CMIC; and Luke Bi, Executive Director and Head of China BioA and APAC LCMS at Labcorp. Each speaker brought distinct insights to a common challenge: how to unlock the value of innovation for real-world health outcomes.

As the leader of Chugai Pharma Taiwan, Yuji Habara opened by highlighting a core challenge facing the pharmaceutical industry: declining productivity in drug discovery despite escalating R&D costs. “The success rate is low, and costs are rising, so we need to rethink the drug development ecosystem,” Habara said. He emphasized that innovation must span the full lifecycle from discovery to commercialization, including modalities such as middle-sized molecules that sit between small molecules and biologics in complexity and promise.

Habara argued that a stronger link between academia, biotech, and pharma is essential to reinvigorate innovation. “This is not something a single company can tackle alone,” he stated. “That’s why we are eager to cooperate with universities and biotech startups. Collaboration will accelerate the engine cycle of innovation.” He stressed the importance of structuring partnerships that distribute risk while enhancing speed and efficiency in clinical translation.

Turning to the value of innovation from the payer’s perspective, Habara acknowledged the difficulty of quantifying therapeutic value across diverse stakeholders. “Each payer views innovation through a different lens. We need to be aligned on what innovation really means,” he said. He pointed to gene and cell therapies as examples where existing insurance systems fall short. “These treatments are often one-time but high-cost interventions. Current reimbursement frameworks aren’t designed to handle that,” he noted, referencing learnings from European markets.

Habara closed by urging industry and regulators to find common ground on valuation metrics. “If we can present the true value of innovation, its long-term benefit to patients and society, then we can shape policy and pricing models that work for all,” he concluded.