Ko-Chung Lin earned a Ph.D. in Organic Synthesis Chemistry from the University of Missouri and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Michigan. He previously served as the chief scientist for new drug development at the Monsanto-Searle Technology Innovation Center and as the group leader of the new drug development department at Biogen in the United States.

In response to Taiwan’s government initiative to promote the biotechnology industry through the “Two Trillion and Twin Star Project” in 2000, he rallied a group of scientists with expertise in biotechnology to return to Taiwan. Together, they co-founded PharmaEssentia Corp, receiving investments from the National Development Fund and the Yao-Hua Glass Management Committee. The company officially began operations in 2003.

Differentiating itself from other biotech companies in Taiwan focusing on generic drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients, Ko-Chung Lin, from the outset, set the direction towards new drug development. Inspired by major pharmaceutical companies like Amgen and Biogen, he dedicated substantial resources to in-house innovation, research and development, and manufacturing. The goal was to obtain regulatory approvals worldwide for the developed drugs and market them internationally, building a fully integrated and globally aligned business model.

This forward-thinking enterprise planning has yielded significant success. In 2019, PharmaEssentia successfully developed and produced the innovative long-acting interferon Ropeginterferon alfa-2b (brand named BESREMi®), obtaining approval for the treatment of adults with polycythemia vera (PV) from regulatory authorities in the EU, the US, Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland, Israel, South Korea, Macau, Bahrain, Qatar and other countries.

PharmaEssentia is committed to the concept of complete local production. The company has established a GMP-certified manufacturing plant in Taichung and a PEG production facility in Taipei, both compliant with l global standards and having passed inspections by regulatory authorities in the EU, the US, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. PharmaEssentia Taichung Plant is the first biologics plant in Taiwan to pass the US FDA cGMP inspection.

After establishing the foundation, PharmaEssentia continued to expand its operational scale. Since 2016, the company has set up subsidiaries in the US, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore to extend its business presence in the local market and commercialize its new drugs worldwide. In 2022, PharmaEssentia began construction on a new biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant in the Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan, and plans to complete the second production line expansion at the Taichung Plant in 2023 to enhance production capacity.