Quest provides US-managed services in Taiwan
its Taiwan testing facility can now provide bioanalytical services
managed directly from the US.
The company sees the move as way to provide cost-effective services, avoiding language barriers issues and sample shipping difficulties. "Our workflow is integrated so that pharmaceutical companies can manage their programmes being conducted in Taiwan directly with our project management staff here on the East Coast without time zone or language barriers," said Dr Ben Chien, CEO of QPS. "Having project management located in the US also ensures that all work being done is fully compliant with US standards." The company said that since the opening of the Taiwan facility - located in Taipei - in 2004, it has completed more than 120 bioanalytical studies to support its clients' preclinical and clinical research and development. According to Dr. Chien, QPS has gained expertise in logistics processes for shipping clinical study samples from the US and Europe to Taiwan. "It is much easier than shipping samples into labs in China," he said. "We have the experience and the capacity that American researchers demand," Dr Chien said. "Of course, QPS has the capacity to continue to service our customers who prefer working directly with our US facilities." Taiwan is already an attractive area for international drug firms keen to take advantage of low costs for their manufacturing processes. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) recently said that investment in improving production processes in the pharmaceutical industry, in particular for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), is now starting to deliver promising returns for the country. As a result, the organisation said, Taiwan recently grabbed a number of orders from multination drug manufacturers.
