From Global Opportunities to Local Challenges: Taiwan’s Biotech Industry Faces a “Standardization Dilemma”

As the global biotech market continues its annual expansion—projected to surpass USD 546 billion by 2025—it has become a critical convergence point between healthcare and artificial intelligence (AI). Taiwan has actively joined this global race, building momentum from its “5+2 Industrial Innovation Plan” to more recent precision health initiatives, aiming to position biotechnology as a new engine for economic growth.

However, under pressure from the AI boom, intensifying global competition, fluctuating tariffs, and internal execution bottlenecks, Taiwan's biotech sector is facing a “standardization crisis.” Inconsistent workflows, frequent handwritten errors, and poor experimental reproducibility have contributed to a growing trust deficit in research. Bridging the gap between scientific rigor and operational execution through AI has become the key to resolving this impasse.

Reimagining Lab Culture: From Reducing Human Error to Intelligent Lab Assistants

Cancer research is a race against time. The journey from drug development to human application is long and complex, requiring rigorous clinical trials. Increasingly, AI has emerged as one of the most reliable “lab partners.” One compelling example is the AI-powered system developed by CancerFree Biotech, a Taiwan-based startup pioneering Avatar Medicine for cancer care.

This project was recently selected for Qualcomm’s “Innovate in Taiwan Challenge” 2025 accelerator program. Targeting three major pain points in lab documentation—missed steps, illegible notes, and undetectable errors—the team introduced an AI-driven solution. By wearing smart glasses, researchers can automatically track their actions and tools, generating audit-ready SOP logs in real time. This significantly improves reproducibility. Amid a broader “crisis of trust” in science, this is not just a technical upgrade but a cultural reset for research environments.

AI x Biotech: From Avatar Medicine to Advanced Image Analysis

AI's impact goes far beyond operational efficiency—it also plays an increasingly crucial role in optimizing cancer treatment. CancerFree Biotech centers its innovation on “Avatar Medicine,” a breakthrough technology that enables tumor cell extraction from a simple blood draw. These cells are then cultured and tested with different drugs in the lab to simulate potential treatment outcomes.

In essence, Avatar Medicine creates a “personal surrogate” for each patient—testing therapies before they are administered in real life. This gives oncologists a better chance at planning effective treatments and reduces the trial-and-error burden in cancer care.

In April 2025, CancerFree Biotech was selected to showcase two of its AI research breakthroughs at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. One of the projects employs the advanced image segmentation model SAM2, combining zero-shot segmentation with time-series analysis. This system enables real-time monitoring of cell culture progression, early failure prediction, and reduces the need for repeat sampling—ultimately shortening patient wait times.

With AI, this platform helps rapidly build drug-testing avatars for patients and identify promising therapies earlier. It enhances clinical decision-making and pushes personalized treatment toward a future that is more predictable, traceable, and adaptable. Success will depend not only on technology adoption but on deep clinical integration, guided by real-world medical needs.

The Future Requires Co-Creation: AI and Medicine Must Design It Together

The goal is not merely to adopt AI—but to build collaborative platforms where AI and medicine jointly shape the future of healthcare.