2016 ANNUAL REVIEW Ministry of Science and Technology

MOST drafted the "Provisional Guidelines for Funding of Applied Research Incubation Projects" in 2013 in order to promote industrial utilization of academic research results and nurture high-tech startups. These projects seek to promote product- oriented, forward-looking, original early research with application potential; proposals are reviewed when received, subjected to quick review, funding is provided in stages divided by milestones, and projects receive assistance and incubation management. This approach can help boost the proportion of promising cases finding their way to the marketplace, and facilitate startup incubation. Although Taiwan's academic institutions and research units have achieved considerable promise and good results in the areas of biotech pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, most relevant academic research results still remain at the front end of industry value chains, and have made insufficient progress toward commercialization. These projects are consequently intended to promote early R&D in the fields of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. As of the end of 2016, more than 230 promising proposals in the fields of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment had passed the initial screening process, and 69 of these had been subjected to in-depth assessment. After rigorous review and selection by an advisory team consisting of domestic and foreign experts, 24 projects were approved to receive MOST funding and full-scale incubation assistance. The program has assisted the establishment of 11 new startups, and has helped research results in the medical equipment-related areas of customized maxillofacial reconstruction, neural conduits, new drug release systems, bone screw positioning, and 3-D microscopy equipment, leukocyte reduction filter technology, and an automated blood testing system to advance to commercialization. The cumulative paid-in capital of the startups exceeded NT$430 million, which indicates that this program has successfully facilitated the transformation of R&D results into products, and ensured that citizens can enjoy the fruits of the commercialization of domestic biotech R&D. Applied Research Incubation Projects Ⅵ developing fundamental industrial technologies that will have high applicability by manufacturers, pose high technological hurdles, have high expected economic influence, and offer broad application markets ("three highs and one broad"). The projects' industry-academic collaborative format attracts R&D resources from industry, and is intended to leverage the government budget, take advantage of universities' abundant resources, help industry boost its competitive ability, and train personnel possessing practical experience. MOST provides funding of up to NT$20 million to each project, and companies must contribute no less than 20% of the applied-for funding. Projects are conducted in four-year stages; implementation performance is evaluated on an annual basis, and funding to poorly-performing projects may be cut off. While government contributions initially constitute the lion's share of project funding, corporate contributions and university resources are expected to gradually increase, and it is hoped that projects can attain long-term self-sufficiency. The program was initiated in September 2012; as of December 2016, 32 basic technology R&D centers were operating, and implementation results included the acquisition of 177 domestic and 57 foreign patents, completion of 123 technology licensing cases, NT$88.61 million in technology licensing fees, 16,258 hours of on- campus university classes taught by instructors from industry, 143 exhibitions and announcements of physical results attended by 20,928 persons, and the holding of 64 open competitions attended by 7,084 persons. The participating companies contributed approximately NT$236.11 million in project funding and 1,662 hardware and equipment items valued at NT$445.63 million. The 427 derivative industry- academic collaborative projects received NT$458.52 million in funding, and 1,608 persons received technical licenses. Ministry of Science and Technology 89 Strengthening Industry-Academic Linkage and Innovation