3/6 Taiwan Life Sciences Biweekly Newsletter
2023-03-06
| Taiwan Life Sciences Biweekly |
| 1. Avenue Thera inks licensing deal with Taiwan's AnnJi 2 March, 2023 Florida, USA-based Avenue Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ATXI), which was founded by Fortress Biotech (Nasdaq: FBIO), today announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with AnnJi Pharmaceutical, a Taiwanese clinical-stage drug company. More... |
| 2. BRIM Biotechnology announces first patient enrollment in pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of BRM421 for Dry Eye Disease 2 March, 2023 Press release BRIM Biotechnology Inc. (TW: 6885), a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing novel regenerative therapies to help combat and cure ophthalmology and degenerative joint diseases, announced today that the first patient has been enrolled in its Phase 3 clinical trial of BRM421 for the treatment of Dry Eye Disease (DED). More... |
| 3. U-Neuron Biomedical amniotic fluid stem cell preparation obtains US patent 1 March, 2023 U-Neuron Biomedical, which focuses on the research and development of amniotic fluid stem cell regeneration therapy, announced that it had received notice in late February from the US Patent Office that the company's patent application for its spherical amniotic fluid stem cell technology had been approved. The patent title obtained by U-Neuron Biomedical is "Pharmaceutical Composition Comprising Amniotic Fluid Stem Cell Spheroid and the Use thereof in Treatment of Urinary Incontinence". More... (in Chinese) |
| 4. AUO Display Plus to acquire 30 percent of stake from Crystalvue 24 February, 2023 AU Optronics announced that it had resolved at its board of directors' meeting on 23 February to acquire a 5-30 percent stake in Crystalvue Medical Corporation through its subsidiary, AUO Display Plus, in order to respond to its two-pronged transformation. Through this acquisition, AUO expects both companies to combine their strengths in optics and display technology to become key strategic partners in the joint development of vertically integrated health care system. More... |
| 5. Tsai Ing-wen: Government will continue to invest resources to make biotechnology and healthcare a trillion-dollar industry 23 February, 2023 Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen recently received the winners of last year's 2022 Biotechnology Industry Awards. During this occasion she reiterated that the biomedical / healthcare industry was strategically important for Taiwan, and set to become the nation's next "trillion dollar industry" [in NT$]. With Taiwan's existing advantages in the fields of medical research and digital technology, the Covid pandemic over the past three years had accelerated the development of the domestic biomedical industry, said Tsai, and allowed Taiwan to demonstrate its strength in the international market. In 2021, the turnover of Taiwan's biomedical industry exceeded NT$700 billion, and is expected to hit the one trillion NT dollar mark soon. More... (in Chinese) |
| 6. BioGen Therapeutics eyes on overseas markets for cartilage repair and regeneration 23 February, 2023 BioGen Therapeutics Co., Ltd. said on 22 February that the company has developed a disposable autologous cartilage repair system, RevoCart, which has been switched from distribution to direct sales since the second half of last year. In addition, from the second half of the year onwards, RevoCart will also have the opportunity to enter the Vietnam, Malaysia and Hainan International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone. More... |
| 7. Allelica, SP BioMED Tap Taiwanese Biobanks for Breast Cancer Polygenic Risk Score Study 23 February, 2023 Polygenic risk score technology company Allelica announced that it will work with SP BioMED to conduct a study of breast cancer polygenic risk scores (PRS) using data of known breast cancer cases found in Taiwanese biobanks. The goal of the study is to determine the best technology to leverage for developing an accurate, scalable, and cost-effective test for use in downstream applications such as PRS analysis for Taiwan掇 population. More... |
| 8. PharmaEngine's first-line pancreatic cancer drug comes closer to approval in the US 23 February, 2023 Drug development company PharmaEngine announced that following the release of data from its Phase III pivotal clinical trial data for its combination therapy for first-line pancreatic cancer, it expects to apply for US approval in the first half of 2023. The company expects that the drug will be available in that market in Q4 this year or Q1 next year. Because the therapy's safety is comparable to existing treatments, PharmaEngine expects to grab a significant slice of the current market. The combination therapy used by PharmaEngine for the treatment of pancreatic cancer was originally approved for the second-line applications in the past, which means that only those resistant to existing mainstream therapies could use the drug. In order to expand the market, PharmaEngine's development partner IPSE, began plans to enter the first-line pancreatic cancer market. In November last year, it released preliminary data of the Phase III pivotal clinical trial. In late January this year, it gave an oral report at ASCO-GI in San Francisco, USA, and released the complete data. In addition to the overall survival period of 11.1 months, which is higher than the median of Gemcitabine + Nab-paclitaxel of 9.2 months in the control group, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7.4 months, which is better than that of the control group at 5.6 months. More... (in Chinese) |
| 9. Taiwan AI, health, comms experts create dementia detection app 22 February, 2023 Taiwanese psychiatric and artificial intelligence (AI) researchers have collaborated to create an app that helps detect the early signs of dementia, according to CNA. The app uses AI technology and machine learning to detect mild cognitive impairment, and important early warning signs indicating possible dementia onset. Taiwan's rapidly aging population means demand for healthcare and cost-effective diagnostic devices is growing fast. More... |
| 10. Far EasTone pushes forward 5G in smart healthcare 22 February, 2023 The epidemic has changed life and access to medical care, and pushed forward the development of telemedicine. According to Chee Ching, General Manager of Far EasTone Telecommunications Co, what is the killer application of 5G that everyone is talking about? Personally, she thinks the best application is smart healthcare. Far EasTone signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Taiwan Community Hospital Association and Taiwan Medical Clinics Associations on 21 February to jointly launch the "5G Telemedicine 2.0" service. In the future, it will also be promoted to other overseas markets. More... |
| 11. NTUH develops AI to address ED crowding with 70% accuracy 21 February, 2023 The Department of Emergency Medicine at National Taiwan University Hospital (hereafter 'NTU Hospital') and the University's research unit AINTU have successfully developed 13 AI models for six ED procedures, using nearly ten years and over one million sources of data to update the status of each emergency patient and AI recommendations every 15 minutes. Nearly 10,000 preliminary tests have been completed, and according to the feedback of 206 senior doctors who participated in the tests, the accuracy of AI assistance reached 70%. More... |
| 12. Formosa Pharmaceuticals' targets the US for its anti-inflammatory drug 21 February, 2023 Formosa Pharmaceuticals (TW: 6838), announced that after completing Phase III clinical trials of its anti-inflammatory and analgesic drug APP13007 for post-ophthalmic surgery, the company plans to apply for drug approval from the US FDA in the first quarter 2023, with the aim to launch in the first quarter of 2024 and capture a slice of the lucrative US annual market. Annual sales of similar products in the United States are currently around US$600 million. The company also mentioned that it is looking for sales partners for APP13007, a 505(b)2 improved dosage form drug. More... |
| 13. Caliway Biopharmaceuticals' new thigh cellulite drug gets FDA approval for Phase II trial 20 February, 2023 Caliway Biopharmaceuticals (TW: 6919) announced that its new drug CBL-514, an injection for reducing thigh cellulite, has received approval from the US FDA Safety Review Committee (SRC) for the first stage of its Phase II clinical trial. Its first dose group of 40mg began to enroll subjects in January 2023, and with this successful SRC review the second dose group of subjects can begin. More... (in Chinese) |
| 14. Taiwan to become Asia's center of excellence for the production and development of advanced medical devices 20 February, 2023 The "Opportunities and Challenges for Taiwan to Become an Important Global Medical Devices Supply Chain'' conference was held on 18 February, focusing on four main facets including 1) intelligent healthcare, 2) innovative medical devices, 3) CDMO, and 4) international trade and marketing, which will promote leading IT/ICT companies to enter Southeast Asia for medical device validation. The development of CDMO should help innovation, move from "outside the body" to "inside the body", increase the added value to the largest extent, be part of supply-chain partners for multinational corporates, and move towards the goal of being a high-end medical device production and R&D center in Asia. The conference was hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and invited the government and professional bodies in Taiwan to envisage strategies and action plans. More... |
| 15. Genetically engineered yeast proves promising source of astaxanthin for shrimp feeds 20 February, 2023 A team of researchers from National Chung Hsing University, China Medical University Hospital, and National Taiwan Ocean University compared the effects of astaxanthin produced by a genetically engineered strain of the yeast Kluveromyces marxianus (known as 3S, 3悆-ASTX) with a synthetic alternative, on genes linked to immunity and the red colouration of shrimp (Penaeus vannamei). More... |
| 16. Oneness' topical cream Bonvadis for wound care approved by CDSCO India 20 February, 2023 Oneness Biotech Co., Ltd. announced on February 18 that its Bonvadis topical wound cream has been granted approval by the CDSCO in India. According to the company, Bonvadis has been granted permission to market Bonvadis Topical Wound Cream in India and will apply for an extension of its indications. More... |
| 17. GlycoNex's new anti-cancer drug begins Phase I clinical trial in Taiwan 18 February, 2023 GlycoNex Inc. (TW: 4168) announced that its new cancer antibody drug GNX-102 has begun a Phase I clinical trial in Taiwan. GNX-102 is a new antibody drug targeting a variety of solid tumors, and can bind to abnormal sugar molecules on the surface of cancer cells to inhibit tumor growth. With Glycolink already having conducted Phase I clinical trials of the drug in the US in patients covering colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, epithelial uterine cancer and other indications, the Taiwan clinical trial program will focus on gastric cancer. More... |
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| Taiwan Bio Industry Organization (Taiwan BIO) Contact: Daisy Tsai Tel: +886 2 27836028 ext 14 FAX : +886 2 27836027 Mobile: +886 933-139647 | Line ID : daisy222 Email: daisy@taiwanbio.org.tw BIO Asia-Taiwan July 26-30, 2023 ========================================= Taiwan Bio Industry Organization (TBIO) Room C229, Bldg. C, No.99, Ln. 130, Sec. 1, Academia Rd., Nangang Dist., Taipei, Taiwan (11571) ========================================= |
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