Asia Biotech Expo: From Exosomes to AI-Driven Tea Aroma Innovation, ITRI and BenQ Dialysis Strengthen Precision Medicine

The Industrial Technology Division of the Ministry of Economic Affairs showcased 10 forward-looking technologies covering regenerative medicine, precision medicine, and food valorization at the Asia Biotech Expo. On the opening day, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and BenQ Dialysis signed an MOU to strengthen Taiwan's self-reliant precision medicine supply chain by localizing key medical consumables. The exhibition highlighted three major innovations: an automated system that significantly improves exosome purification efficiency, a next-generation Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) platform capable of precisely targeting and eliminating cancer cells, and an industrial-scale AI-driven tea aroma modeling technology. These achievements demonstrate how strategic R&D projects, combined with industrial strengths, are driving critical technological advancements and industrial transformation.

Chou Chung-Pin, Deputy Director of the Industrial Technology Division, stated that in response to the rapid global development of biotechnology and AI-driven transformation, Taiwan is leveraging its strengths in semiconductors, ICT, and healthcare to continuously invest in forward-looking R&D through government-funded technology programs. This year, the Division led research institutions in setting up a dedicated pavilion, not only supporting the biotech industry's upgrade but also promoting supply chain autonomy through technology commercialization.

In the field of regenerative medicine, ITRI and BenQ Dialysis have collaborated across industries to develop Taiwan's first automated extracellular vesicle (exosome) concentration and purification system, integrating tangential flow filtration column technology. This innovation overcomes the bottlenecks of traditional ultracentrifugation methods, reducing the concentration process from 12 hours to under 2 hours, while improving process efficiency and quality consistency. It successfully achieves domestic production of critical medical-grade consumables.

For precision cancer therapy, the Biotechnology Center has established a next-generation Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) platform incorporating LYSward technology. This technology leverages intracellular microenvironment regulation to ensure that once the drug enters the cell, it precisely detaches and releases a high dose of active drug within lysosomes. Animal trials have shown over 90% cancer cell inhibition, laying a critical foundation for Taiwan's precision medicine industry.

In food technology, the Food Industry Research Institute has developed an intelligent tea aroma extraction and modeling technology. By combining AI deep learning with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), the team has built a volatile flavor fingerprint database for Taiwan's specialty teas and established a quantitative prediction model. This technology has already been implemented at Yuan-Yu Enterprise, significantly increasing aroma recovery rates by over 30%, reducing reliance on manual expertise, and assisting traditional industries in achieving digital transformation and high-value production.

These technological achievements will be exhibited from July 16 to 19 at the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Industrial Technology Division Pavilion on the 4th floor of Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 1, continuously strengthening Taiwan's biomedicine industry competitiveness through cross-domain integration of R&D capabilities.