4/15 Taiwan Life Sciences Biweekly Newsletter
2024-04-15 |
| Taiwan Life Sciences Biweekly |
| BIO Asia-Taiwan 2024 opens July 24th 11 April, 2024 BIO Asia-Taiwan 2024, jointly organized by the global Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and the Taiwan Bio Industry Organization (Taiwan BIO), will be held July 24th to 28th at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, TaiNEX 1 and 2. This year, the conference is expanding into three tracks: a three-day Innovation & Technology Forum; a two-day Investment Summit, and a three-day Regional Cooperation Forum. The exhibition is expected to host over 800 flagship companies utilizing 2,100 booths, and is expected to attract biomedical industry professionals from more than 50 countries. More... |
| U-Neuron Biomedical's UA002 stem cell treatment for ED initiates Phase I clinical trial enrollment 10 April, 2024 U-Neuron Biomedical (TW: 6973) announced that its new drug US002 for treating erectile dysfunction (ED) caused by diabetes and prostatectomy has initiated Phase I clinical trials. The first patient has been enrolled, and the trial will continue to recruit participants at two hospitals in the northern region, aiming for a total of 9-15 subjects. More... (in Chinese) |
| Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry Technology and Development Center collaborates with Indonesian company to advance exosome research 9 April, 2024 Targeting exosome market opportunities, the Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry Technology and Development Center (PITDC) announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian regenerative medicine company PT. Sel Regenerasi Biotek. In addition to collaborating on the development of cell therapy products for infectious diseases, the two parties will look to better connect with Taiwan's regenerative medicine contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMO) to open up new international opportunities. More... (in Chinese) |
| Everfortune.AI receives FDA approval letter for aortic syndrome testing 9 April, 2024 Everfortune.AI (TW: 6841) announced that its Aortic Syndrome Testing System has received approval from the US FDA for medical devices. Everfortune.AI has currently obtained a total of 14 TFDA approvals in Taiwan, 10 FDA approvals in the United States, and 8 approvals in other countries, totaling 32 medical device market permits. More... (in Chinese) |
| Exosome-based beauty products leading the way: Taiwan manufacturers, such as UnicoCell Biomed and Bionet, vie for International Market Share 8 April, 2024 Taiwanese manufacturers are taking the lead in developing exosome-based beauty products to compete in the international arena. Among them, UnicoCell has made the fastest progress by developing upstream raw materials and has already entered the Japanese market. Bionet, U-neuron, and Shine-On Biomedical have obtained International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) certification. Additionally, ExoOne Bio and MeriBank have enlisted Nana Tang and Amber An as endorsers, highlighting the industry's momentum. More... |
| Handa Pharmaceuticals to list on OTC exchange, three drugs to drive business growth in 2024 8 April, 2024 According to Economic Daily News, Handa Pharmaceuticals, a biotech stock set to debut on the OTC market, announced on the 7th that its application for listing has been approved by the board of the OTC Exchange, and it will officially go public in the near future. Handa stated that three drugs, including the high-technical-threshold generic drug HND-002 for gastroesophageal reflux disease, the new drug HND-020 for multiple sclerosis, and the anti-cancer drug HND-033, are expected to boost the company's business growth this year. More... |
| Senhwa Biosciences makes debut exhibition appearance at AACR Annual Meeting 8 April, 2024 Senhwa Biosciences (TW: 6492) announced that the company set up an exhibition area for the first time at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. General Manager Huang Jin-Ding and three executives have already arrived in San Diego to prepare for the conference. The company will showcase the clinical results and development potential of two new drugs in the treatment of various cancers, aiming to strengthen international exchange and explore potential business cooperation opportunities. More... (in Chinese) |
| Center Ventures Dives into Gene Therapy, Leads Pre A+ Funding Round for Hong Kong's GenEditBio 8 April, 2024 Center Ventures (TW: 4123) announced that GenEditBio, a gene editing technology company based in Hong Kong, had completed a Pre-Series A+ funding round. This round was jointly led by Center Ventures and its subsidiary, Lumosa Therapeutics (TW: 6535). According to the company, this investment in GenEditBio is significant, marking its first foray into gene therapy and expanding its exploration in the forefront of life sciences. It also aims to continue the leading position of Lumosa Therapeutics in the field of strokes, strategically positioning for future product lines. More... (in Chinese) |
| Merger fever: Biotech industry's equity shuffling 8 April, 2024 As the shareholders' meeting season approaches, the flurry of equity movements in the biotech industry over the past year has drawn attention. According to statistics, at least ten companies have undergone mergers, acquisitions, or attracted strategic investors in the past year. The hottest topic this year is Ding Yu Health and Taipei Muse proposed acquisition of 25-35 percent equity in T.L.Biotech at NT$16.8 per share. ApexBio, on the other hand, received investments from Catcher Tech and Sanyang, making the upcoming shareholder meeting and director election on April 30 a highly anticipated event. More... |
| China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) Ranked Global No.1 Smart Hospital in HIMSS Digital Health Indicator 2023 Press release 4 April, 2024 China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) has achieved a global top score, 370/400, for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Digital Health Indicator (DHI) in 2023. This achievement not only distinguishes CMUH as Taiwan's first smart hospital to reach this milestone but also highlights its unwavering dedication to advancing smart medicine to improve patient outcomes. Impressively, this is the second time CMUH has been acknowledged as leading smart hospitals by the HIMSS Digital Health Indicator. More... |
| China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) Explores 'BrainHealth' to Scrutinize Dementia within a Minute Press release 4 April, 2024 In clinical practice, neurologists scrutinize dementia patients using numerous tools, including medical history, blood tests, cognitive testing, mental assessment, medical imaging and electro-physiological signal testing. Patients usually spend more than an hour to complete complex questionnaires, and health check-up schedules at hospitals for patients, however, are full up and overloaded. To fulfill patient needs and assist physicians to determine severity of dementia more efficiently and accurately, China Medical University Hospital (CMUH, Taiwan) developed 'BrainHealth', an AI system powered by AI Brain Age Prediction System and Neural Gene Discrimination System to facilitate complex assessments of dementia severity. The AI model takes only one minute to help physicians diagnose dementia, with an AUC of 87 percent and a sensitivity of 91.7 percent. More... |
| Bora completes its first acquisition in the United States and officially merges with Upsher-Smith in Q2 3 April, 2024 Bora Pharmaceuticals announced yesterday (April 2) that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Upsher-Smith Laboratories, Inc., a pharmaceutical company located in Minnesota, USA, from the Japanese pharmaceutical group Sawai Group Holdings Co., Ltd. and the Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corporation. As of the previous day's closing date, Upsher-Smith has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bora. More... |
| RMT expands global presence, increases investment in Taiwan's biotech sector 3 April, 2024 RMT Holdings Group's Taiwan-based subsidiary, Reliance Medical Technology Corporation, recently acquired the stem cell therapy technology from the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and held a signing ceremony in Tokyo, Japan on March 19. Additionally, RMT Holdings Group announced the official establishment of its preparatory office in Japan. More... |
| Far East Medical Electronics Cooperates with Taipei Veterans General Hospital to expand into Southeast Asian market 3 April, 2024 Far East Medical Electronics announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam, the day before yesterday. The collaboration aims to provide medical security services for short to long-term business travelers, elderly travelers, and chronic disease patients facing medical needs overseas, such as in Vietnam. This will be facilitated through Far East Medical Electronics' "Travel e-Care" platform, which will connect with medical institutions abroad in collaboration with Taipei Veterans General Hospital. More... |
| China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) Inventing "Intelligent Urine Sediment Morphology Analysis, IUSMA" to Find Chronic Glomerulonephritis in Just 10 Minutes Press release 3 April, 2024 The urine sediment examination is primarily used to detect and assess kidney and urinary system health. In the conventional practice, a urine sediment test covers six items: red blood cells, white blood cells, squamous cells, urinary casts, crystals, and bacteria, while urine bacterial culture and pathological diagnostics may require an additional week. As artificial intelligence (AI) interpretation of pathologic tests still poses a challenge to current technology, manual interpretation is subject to personal experience and the possibility of overlooking abnormal cells. To address these challenges, the Center of Laboratory Medicine and AI Center at China Medical University Hospital (CMUH, Taiwan) collaborated to develop "Intelligent Urine Sediment Morphology Analysis (IUSMA)." IUSMA utilizes AI to assist in urine sediment identification and provides a comprehensive report of at least 21 items within just 10 minutes, including difficult-to-detect dysmorphic red blood cells, urothelial cells, tubular epithelial cells, Trichomonas vaginalis, and cancer cells. It is useful in supporting physicians in the early discovery of urinary system damage or anomalies," said Dr. Po-Ren Hsueh, Superintendent of the Center of Laboratory Medicine at CMUH, Taiwan. More... |
| Bionet's Dry Eye Syndrome Exosome New Drug Listed by CDE as an Index Case 2 April, 2024 Bionet (TW: 1784) announced that its umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell new drug BU-01 for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis has entered Phase II clinical trials in humans. Currently, nearly 50 percent of patients into Phase II clinical trials for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have been enrolled. Additionally, Bionet's stem cell-derived exosome new drug ExoTear for the treatment of dry eye syndrome has been assigned as an Index Case by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE), which is expected to accelerate its development. More... (in Chinese) |
| Opportunity for brain injury patients with new drug from NTHU 2 April, 2024 Traumatic brain injury is currently considered irreversible. When the head is impacted by external force, it not only leads to the death of local brain nerve cells but also causes extensive damage to the brain nerve network. Professor and Associate Dean Chen Linyi of the College of Life Sciences and Medicine at National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) explained that brain nerves are inherently difficult to regenerate. Therefore, in clinical practice, supportive therapies are often the only options available, including hemostasis and administration of anti-inflammatory and antiepileptic drugs. More... (in Chinese) |
| TX01 U.S. drug approval progress: Tanvex BioPharma chairman: Actively communicating with positive responses 2 April, 2024 At a conference on April 1st, Tanvex BioPharma-KY's newly appointed Chairman, Chen Lin-Cheng, emphasized that the core strategy of focusing on biosimilar drugs and expanding the layout of Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) remains unchanged. The most anticipated biosimilar drug, TX01, for treating neutropenia, has received positive responses from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after multiple communications. Chen expressed hopes of sharing news soon. More... (in Chinese) |
| Taipei Veterans General Hospital holds medical forum in Hanoi, Vietnam, showcasing Taiwan's soft power in healthcare 2 April, 2024 On March 30, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and the Vietnam Medical Association jointly organized the "2024 Taiwan-Vietnam Medical Science Conference" in Hanoi, Vietnam. The conference covered important topics such as "Cardiovascular Treatment," "Cancer Treatment," "Smart Healthcare, and Medical Tourism," aiming to promote interdisciplinary dialogue between Taiwan and Vietnam in healthcare, establish a communication platform for the medical industry, unlock global medical issues, and promote Taiwan's medical services to the Vietnamese market. Ambassador Richard R.C. Shih and Deputy Chief Shi-hsuan Chao attended the event on behalf of the Embassy of Taiwan in Vietnam. More... |
| eCloudvalley digital technology Co., Ltd. expands healthcare layout 2 April, 2024 Software firms are actively expanding into healthcare, with eCloudvalley Digital Technology Co., Ltd. partnering with Far Eastern Memorial Hospital to jointly introduce a hybrid cloud architecture for medical information systems; Galaxy Software Services's Vitals KPIM indicator program and control platform have successfully gone live in the Chang Gung Medical System; while Up Great participates in the Series B fundraising of H2U, a health startup invested by Foxconn founder Terry Gou, extending its operations into the healthcare sector. More... |
| Creative Life Science's Super Laboratory teams up with Hyper Quantum Technologies to expand into the food inspection market 1 April, 2024 Creative Life Science announced that its subsidiary, Super Laboratory, has initiated a business cooperation plan with the food inspection company Hyper Quantum Technologies, aiming to expand inspection services across northern, central, and southern Taiwan through the collaboration of two third-party inspection organizations. Creative Life Science has also planned to apply for its IPO in 2025. More... (in Chinese) |
| Foxconn Collaborates with Hospitals on AI Diagnosis, Makes Progress in Single-lead ECG and Prostate Imaging 1 April, 2024 Chiang Chih-Hsiung, General Manager of Foxconn's (TW: 2317) B Business Group, stated that Foxconn has been quietly cultivating the field of smart healthcare and has developed the CoDoctor AI-assisted diagnosis platform. Currently, it has collaborated with multiple hospitals and has made progress in areas such as single-lead ECG, prostate imaging, and fundus imaging. Its architecture based on massive medical models has become its significant advantage. More... (in Chinese) |
| Taiwan professor develops AI wearable to detect disease risk 1 April, 2024 Professor Hsiu Hsin from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) has developed a wearable AI smart device capable of detecting the risk of diseases such as dementia, COVID-19, and even the potential side effects of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The motivation behind this technology stems from sci-fi movies Hsu watched as a child. Today, it has become a reality and is undergoing various research collaborations with multiple hospitals. Furthermore, it is currently being utilized for medical cooperation in breast cancer and colorectal cancer, aiming to detect angiogenesis in cancer and evaluate treatment prognosis. More... (in Chinese) |
| Quanta's decade-long transformation: building an AI healthcare ecosystem 1 April, 2024 Quanta's Chief Technology Officer and Vice President, Ted Chang, stated at the Smart Healthcare Forum hosted by the Electronics and Information Industries Association on the 29th that Quanta undergoes a major transformation every decade. In the past, from PCs to cloud computing, and then to AI computing, each shift has been significant. Chang emphasized that developing the AI healthcare industry cannot be achieved by Quanta alone. In the future, there will be closer collaboration with the medical community to create an ecosystem, leveraging seven major technologies such as "ABCDEFG" (Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Cloud Computing, AIoT Devices, Edge Computing, FinTech, and 5G/6G) to penetrate the AI healthcare industry. More... |
| COMPAL advances further into smart healthcare in 2024 1 April, 2024 Compal, a major contract manufacturer, is further expanding its smart healthcare initiatives. On March 29th, Chun-de Shen, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, announced that the group's cardiovascular imaging medical devices and dementia AI EEG analyzers are expected to receive certification from the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) in the second quarter and by the end of the year, respectively. More... |
| Oneness Biotech's 'Fespixon cream' successfully enters Taiwan's top three medical centers and the Singapore market in the first quarter 1 April, 2024 Oneness Biotech held its first-quarter briefing earlier, announcing gradual successes of its diabetic foot ulcer new drug, "Fespixon cream," in domestic and international markets. Oneness Biotechnology stated that "Fespixon cream" has penetrated the systems of Taiwan's top three medical centers, namely National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, in the first quarter of this year. Moreover, shipments to the overseas market in Singapore began in March, with plans to seek medical insurance approval in Mainland China starting from July this year. More... |
| Andros Pharmaceuticals' clinical progress smooth, IPO planning to begin this year 31 March, 2024 Andros Pharmaceuticals (TW: 6917) recently announced that its drugs APC101 and APC201 have made smooth progress in clinical trials, with the possibility of also initiating Phase II clinical trials for APC101 in the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia in the head and neck region. As there are currently no products approved specifically targeting localized nerve pain in the head and neck region, APC101 is well placed to be the first. More... (in Chinese) |
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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 2024 (24-28 July, 2024) ========================================= Taiwan Bio Industry Organization (TBIO) Room C229, Bldg. C, No.99, Ln. 130, Sec. 1, Academia Rd., Nangang Dist., Taipei, Taiwan (11571) ========================================= |