The International Symposium on Biomedicine of the National Medical University of China debuts, focusing on the development of AI and precision medicine

Kaohsiung Medical University held the "Second Kaohsiung International Conference on Biomedicine (ICOBM 2026)" series of events from October 16 to 18, bringing together more than 100 speakers from 11 countries and attracting more than 700 registrations. Minister of Health and Welfare Shi Chongliang and Minister of Economic Affairs Gong Mingxin attended the industry-government-academic forum and high-level roundtable respectively to discuss Taiwan's direction of promoting biomedical innovation from health care needs, AI technology applications to industrial development.

Shi Chongliang delivered a keynote speech titled "Healthy Taiwan, Deepening Southern Taiwan", discussing national health policies and medical development in southern Taiwan, focusing on how to integrate medical resources and use technology to improve the quality of care as the population ages and disease patterns change. Professor Qian Xiang of Stanford University School of Medicine in the United States was also invited to share his views on forward-looking medical development.

Gong Mingxin pointed out that AI is gradually changing the development model of new drug research and development, precision medicine, smart medical equipment and clinical auxiliary technology. Taiwan has advantages in semiconductor, information and communication industries and clinical research. The Ministry of Economic Affairs will continue to support technological innovation and clinical verification through science and technology planning, industrial R&D and industry-university-research cooperation, and assist companies to expand international markets. How to connect R&D and the market is the focus of further discussions at the high-level roundtable.

In terms of research investment and cooperation, Kaohsiung Medical University unveiled the "Advanced Computing Power Center for Advanced Medical Systems" during the event, planning to provide computing resources required for genomics, clinical multi-body science and medical big data analysis to support AI and precision medicine research. It also held the "Kaohsiung Medical University and Weicai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Biennial Forum" and invited Taiwan Weicai Chairman Hu Yaozhong and representatives from Japan Weicai's cancer research and development team to exchange experience in new drug development and seek cooperation opportunities in areas such as new drug target exploration, transnational clinical translation, and female cancers.

Chen Jianzhi, chairman of the private Kaohsiung Medical University, said that biomedical research requires long-term investment, and the establishment of the "Advanced Computing Power Center of the Higher Medical System" is an important foundation for higher medical institutions to promote research translation and precision health. High Medical will combine the research and clinical resources of the university and affiliated medical systems, and through government, academic and industrial cooperation, support scientific and technological research and development that responds to patient needs, and enrich the biomedical research energy of southern Taiwan.

Yu Minglong, president of the National Medical University, said that this seminar coincides with the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the National Medical University. He hopes that different majors and institutions can find specific topics for continued cooperation through exchanges. The National Medical University will deepen international cooperation based on the research and clinical experience of the school system and promote potential research results for subsequent verification and development.