The U.S. has requested assistance from a host of Taiwanese manufacturers to produce antibiotics, face masks, and test kits to meet its urgent demand for “strategic goods” to counter the pandemic, reported UDN. Companies involved include Savior Lifetec Corporation (松瑞製藥, formerly known as 展旺), Mytrex Health Technologies (敏成), General Biologicals Corporation (普生), and Applied BioCode (瑞磁).
Rebecca Lee (李香雲), chairwoman of Savior Lifetec, noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently sent two requests to boost antibiotic production as the country is faced with a “tight supply.”
Savior Lifetec is known for its penem antibiotics, often used to treat coronavirus patients in severe condition. The company is expected to ramp up its production capacity from 6 million to 10 million units next month to meet the global need and is poised to emerge as the world’s largest penem antibiotics maker within three years.
American enterprises have also reportedly expressed interest in teaming up with Mytrex to build surgical mask factories in the U.S. The company, a major melt-blown fabric supplier and a member of Taiwan’s "national face mask production team," declined to comment on the issue before the board approves relevant plans, wrote UDN.
Meanwhile, testing kit manufacturers General Biologicals Corporation and Applied BioCode have applied for FDA certification of its medical gear. With coronavirus screening tools still in short supply in the U.S., the companies wish to play a role in the market.
Taiwan and the U.S. issued a joint statement in March that paves the way for further cooperation in the development of vaccines and medications as well as the production of personal protective equipment in the fight against the COVID-19 threat, wrote CNA.
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3945204
