For Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), 2025 is more than a date on the calendar — it marks six decades of continuous partnership with Taiwan’s healthcare system. Since establishing its affiliate in 1965, BMS has evolved in step with the island’s transformation from a developing market into one with a mature single-payer system and ambitious public health goals.

“We like to think of it as 60 years of innovation and commitment,” says Kris Hager, general manager of Bristol Myers Squibb Taiwan. “We’ve launched many innovative medicines over time in different therapeutic areas — from HIV to hepatitis B and cancer, and the first immunotherapy introduced to Taiwan.” That long-term presence, he adds, reflects both the company’s local roots and its intention to continue investing in Taiwan’s health ecosystem “for the next 60-plus years.”

That legacy now anchors BMS’ renewed Asia-Pacific vision. This year, the company brought 14 markets together under shared leadership. “The region represents about 60% of the world’s population,” says Steve Sugino, senior vice president for the Asia-Pacific region. “However, we don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Sugino says that the goal “is to ensure that in every market we commit to, we find a business model and approach that works — for the healthcare system and for patients.”

Taiwan’s role in that framework is distinct. The island’s aging population, advanced clinicians, and increasingly collaborative health authorities make it an important bridge between mature and emerging healthcare markets.

“BMS Taiwan currently runs around 50 clinical trials, and in five of them we were the first to enroll patients globally — ahead of the U.S., Australia, and other markets,” says Hager. “That strong execution shows the quality of our local team and the developed infrastructure here.”

That operational strength extends to policy engagement. “The NHIA (National Health Insurance Administration) has piloted mechanisms like parallel submission — allowing regulatory and reimbursement reviews to happen at the same time — to shorten that 18-to-24-month gap from approval to access,” Hager says. Sugino adds that for patients in life-and-death situations, twenty-four months is longer than many can afford.

BMS is also aligning its priorities with the Healthy Taiwan initiative, which seeks to reduce cancer mortality by 30% within the decade, a goal Hager describes as aggressive. “But with our oncology and hematology portfolio, we can help chip away at that,” he says.

He also points to the government’s willingness to learn from other health-technology assessment systems in markets like Japan, the UK, and Germany as signs that Taiwan is positioning itself as a fast-learning market that values partnership.  For example, the government established the Cancer Drugs Fund to expand access to innovative cancer treatments.

“Taiwan was once called the ‘island of liver disease,’ but our introduction of hepatitis B treatment helped change both the landscape and public perception,” says Hager. “Additionally, bringing immunotherapy to Taiwan really changed the conversation in cancer — a longer survival and better quality of life.”

Both leaders agree that innovation will only reach its full potential with the right funding. “Taiwan’s healthcare spending relative to GDP still trails neighbors like Korea and Japan,” says Hager. “And patients are waiting, so we need to keep finding ways to bring innovative medicines to them faster.”

To that end, BMS is focusing its resources on first-in-class and best-in-class therapies, including for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a debilitating disease that has never before had an approved treatment.

But as Hager notes, Taiwan’s future advantage lies in its people. “What enables a lot of this is the talent,” he says. “Having worked in the U.S. and mainland China, I can say the talent in Taiwan is excellent. We focus on empowering people, giving them stretch assignments, and helping them contribute to regional projects — enabling them to be at their best.”

Furthermore, this collaborative culture has already seen the Taiwan teams’ medical and market access experts share insights across Asia-Pacific, helping BMS accelerate regional learning and launch strategies — benefiting both business priorities and talent development.

Sugino sees the same dynamic playing out on the policy side. “The health and welfare of a society directly determines its ability to grow and compete,” he says. “I applaud Taiwan’s leadership for setting a bold vision to reduce cancer mortality and putting money behind it, which shows real courage and commitment. Now it’s about how we go faster and bigger on that path.”

After 60 years, BMS’ mission in Taiwan remains clear: pairing world-class science with local expertise so patients can access lifesaving treatments as quickly as possible.

“This is a partnership,” Hager says. “An ecosystem working together to find solutions and make timely access a reality for patients.”