taiwan Biotech "5-10 Years Behind"

Taiwan's expertise in genetic engineering technology is between five and 10 years' behind the capabilities currently achieved by countries such as the USA, the UK, Germany, Japan, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands, according to a report published by the government-funded Development Center of Biotechnology.

Taiwan's expertise in cell, protein and biochemical engineering is even further behind, at about 10 years, according to the study. However, it forecasts that if a boost is given to research and development, the gap between Taiwan and the advanced countries in genetic engineering capability could be reduced to as little as two to five years after 1996, and that Taiwan could even catch these countries up by 2002.