Singapore: In an effort to push the growth of the biotechnology industry in Taiwan, the country's top research institute Academia Sinica and Switzerland-based multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis signed a memorandum of agreement to promote exchanges in translational medicine.

According to news reports emerging from Taiwan, every year two Academia Sinica researchers will get the opportunity to work at Novartis's research centers. The five-year program is scheduled to begin in 2013. The MoU was signed at a ceremony in Taipei in December 2012.

The two sides will also continue to hold annual symposiums and workshops on biotech medicine, and will explore the possibility of joint development of new medicine.

The cooperation is expected to boost Taiwan's research and development efforts in this field. Translational medicine is one of Taiwan's priorities as it looks to boost its biotechnology industry.