ITRI Showcases Exosome Consumables Localization at BIO Asia-Taiwan 2026

(CNA reporter Tseng Yun-ting, Taipei, July 16) The Ministry of Economic Affairs' Industrial Technology Division today launched a dedicated pavilion for S&T Program achievements at the 'BIO Asia-Taiwan 2026 Asia Biotech Exhibition,' showcasing 10 innovative technologies across three fields: regenerative medicine, precision medicine, and food valorization. Among them, ITRI and BenQ Dialysis signed a technical cooperation memorandum to jointly promote localization of key consumables for extracellular vesicle (exosome) purification, enhancing the autonomy of Taiwan's precision medicine supply chain.

Deputy Director Zhou Chong-bin of the Technology Division stated that in response to rapid global biotech development and AI-driven technological transformation, Taiwan can integrate its strengths in semiconductors, ICT, and healthcare to advance biotech industry upgrading and cross-domain innovation. This year, ITRI, the Biotechnology Center, and the Food Industry Research Institute jointly established the S&T Program pavilion, collectively exhibiting 10 cutting-edge technological achievements.

According to the Technology Division, in the field of regenerative medicine, ITRI has developed Taiwan's first 'automated exosome concentration and purification technology and system' featuring pressure sensing and real-time feedback control. This integrated system completes concentration, purification, and dialysis within a single platform. Compared to traditional ultracentrifugation, it reduces the concentration process from approximately 12 hours to under 2 hours, significantly improving process stability.

ITRI is collaborating with BenQ Dialysis, a subsidiary of the Qisda Group, to introduce tangential flow filtration column technology. By optimizing fluid control and material modification, they are upgrading medical-grade dialysis columns into high-efficiency exosome purification consumables, advancing localization of critical components.

In precision medicine, the Biotechnology Center is showcasing its self-developed next-generation ADC (Antibody-Drug Conjugate) platform. This technology uses antibodies to precisely target cancer cells first. Once the drug enters the cell, it releases high-concentration active ingredients in the lysosome in response to intracellular pH changes, enhancing cancer cell killing efficacy and improving the precision of cancer treatment.

The Technology Division noted that preliminary animal trials show the upgraded ADC-based drug achieves over 90% tumor suppression rate, outperforming both commercial ADC drugs and untreated control groups. This technology is expected to become a key foundation for Taiwan's development of next-generation precision medicine.

In food technology, the Food Industry Research Institute has pioneered an AI-powered smart tea aroma profiling technology. By combining AI deep learning with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), it has established a 'volatile flavor fingerprint' for Taiwan's specialty teas and built a quantitative standard and prediction model for tea aroma quality.

The Food Institute stated that this technology has been implemented by domestic company Yuan You Enterprise, helping improve aroma recovery rates by over 30%. It reduces reliance on human sensory judgment in manufacturing processes, enhances consistency in industrial-scale production, and promotes digital transformation and high-value development of the traditional tea industry. (Edited by Pan Yi-ching) 1150716