11/7 Taiwan Life Sciences Biweekly Newsletter
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| Taiwan Life Sciences Biweekly |
| 1. Taiwan health experts deem locally-produced Medigen COVID-19 vaccine effective 4 November, 2022 A panel of health experts on Thursday unanimously agreed that the locally-produced Medigen COVID-19 vaccine was effective in providing protection against severe illness and death from the disease caused by the new coronavirus. More... |
| 2. Taiwan BIO elects its Board and reseats Wu Chung-hsiun as Chairman 3 November, 2022 (Taiwan BIO) During its annual general meeting held October 27, The Taiwan Bio-Industry Organization (Taiwan BIO) elected its seventeenth board of directors and supervisors and reelected its current chair Wu Chung-Hsiun, CEO of the Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB) as Taiwan BIO Chairman. Election for Vice Chairman was also held, with the role to be shared by Jo Shen, Partner, Vivo Capital Ventures; and Audrey Tseng, Honorary Deputy Chairman, PwC. In addition, six highly-regarded members of Taiwan's biomedical community were elected as Supervisors to the Board of Taiwan BIO, including Bobby Sheng, Chairman and CEO of Bora Pharmaceuticals; Chen Pei-Jiun, Chairman and CEO of Mycenax Biotech; Daniel Cheng, President, San Fu Biotechnology; Jasmine Yu, Accountant, PwC; Susan Lu, President and CEO of ScinoPharm Taiwan; and Lee I-lin, Vice Chairman, Phytohealth. Taiwan BIO was established in 1989, with its nearly 5,000 strong membership representing 145 companies, research institutes, investment firms, academia and government entities across the country, with the current board including notable leaders from across this spectrum. Re-elected Chairman Wu Chung-Hsiun in his acceptance speech noted that the four major tasks of the association include promoting international engagement; building communication links between the government and industry; cultivating talent; and helping grow and encourage excellence in both companies and R&D in the biomedical industry space. Additional responsibilities include organizing and hosting the annual BIO Asia-Taiwan International Conference and Exhibition; participating in international biotechnology gatherings; holding seminars on how to contract with the government; holding professional training through its Biotech Academy, and organizing and hosting the annual Taiwan BIO Industry Awards. Wu also pointed out that under the guidance of Chen Chien-Jen, Chief Consultant and former Vice President of Taiwan, Taiwan BIO has set up a number of industry, membership, and activity committees in agricultural biotechnology, biotechnology services, entrepreneurial integration, industry regulations, medtech, biosimilars, and international cooperation. By utilizing the knowledge and experience of the board, Wu expressed his hope that Taiwan BIO would be the platform to help bring together the resources of all stakeholders to better promote the development of the biomedical industry in Taiwan. The other two Executive Directors appointed during the seventeenth session were Liu Lee-Cheng, Chairman, EirGenix; and Sytwu Huey-Kang, Vice President, National Health Research Institutes (NHRI). The Executive Supervisor position was assumed by Howard Lee, Chairman, Taho Pharmaceuticals. Former Taiwan BIO Chairman Johnsee Lee was re-appointed as Honorary Chairman. |
| 3. Medigen COVID-19 vaccine sold at NT$840 per dose to CDC 1 November, 2022 Pharmaceutical firm Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp. said Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine was sold to Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) at an average price of NT$840 (US$26) per dose. The NT$4.03 billion contract with the CDC was for 5 million doses, of which 200,000 doses were donations for the government's help in funding the vaccine's development, Medigen said in a statement. More... |
| 4. BRIM Biotechnology receives FDA agreement on Phase 3 clinical trial design for BRM421, BRIM's lead candidate for Dry Eye Disease, at End of Phase 2 Meeting 1 November, 2022 (Press release) BRIM Biotechnology, Inc. (TW: 6885) is pleased to announce that it has received agreement from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the Phase 3 clinical trial design for its lead candidate for Dry Eye Disease (DED), BRM421, at the End of Phase 2 Meeting. BRIM will submit the Phase 3 study protocol to the FDA in Q4 2022. More... (in Chinese) |
| 5. NaviFUS signs cooperation agreement with Germany's Brainlab 31 October, 2022 NaviFUS (TW: 6872) - which stands for Neuronavigation-guided focused ultrasound system, which it invented) - announced last week that it had signed a joint cooperation agreement with Munich, Germany-headquartered Brainlab, a surgical imaging and navigation technology development company, to help the company improve the safety and efficacy of the NaviFUS system, with the plan to later enter world markets through Brainlab's global sales network. NaviFUS mentioned that Brainlab has offices in 25 locations around the world, and more than 6,000 hospitals use the equipment developed by them. Brainlab's market share in the field of surgical neuronavigation is ranked first in the world. More... (in Chinese) |
| 6. SDIA showcases smart medical applications 27 October, 2022 Taiwan's Smart Display Industrial Alliance (SDIA) held a conference last week on the application of smart medical displays, taking place at the Zhubei, Hsinchu branch of the National Taiwan University Hospital. SDIA was established in 2020 with the support of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs. In addition to focusing on advanced smart display technology, applications are developed aimed at the smart retail, smart mobility, smart medical and smart entertainment sectors. More... (in Chinese) |
| 7. OrientPharma signs agreement with Italian drug developer Chiesi 27 October, 2022 Taiwan biotech OrientPharma (OEP) has signed an exclusive agreement with the Italian rare disease drug developer Chiesi to bring two drugs and one clinical stage candidate to Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries. The candidate is PRX102 (pegunigalsidase alfa), an enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) co-developed by Chiesi and the Israeli biotech Protalix to treat Fabry disease. More... |
| 8. Taiwan's New Innovations Emerging on the International Stage of Biomedicine and FinTech 26 October, 2022 The globalization trend has now made internationalization an important goal of all startup teams. Meanwhile, assisting startups to present themselves on the international stage is also a crucial task of TAcc+ (Taiwan Accelerator Plus), the latest international startup accelerator in Taiwan. For example, competing in major overseas startup competitions has always been one of the most effective ways for startup teams to make themselves known. For this year, the TAcc+ supported teams have achieved great things in Select USA, the key competition event in the world of startups. More... |
| 9. Bened Biomedical Acquires US Distributor Oryx Biomedica 17 October, 2022 Bened Biomedical Co, Ltd., the global leader in psychobiotics with clinical studies, has acquired its US distributor Oryx Biomedical, Inc., who is pioneering the translation of microbiome research into impactful biotherapeutics and is one of the earliest stage companies bringing the gut-brain axis category of probiotics to the market. Based in Taiwan and founded by Prof. Ying-Chieh Tsai, PhD, Bened Biomedical holds 35 probiotic patents, its strains have been studied in over 25 clinical trials, and the company's many psychobiotic and functional probiotic products have sold over 35 million doses. More... |
| 10. SyneuRx's applies for Phase III clinical trial in the US for its COVID-19 drug Pentarlandir 25 October, 2022 SyneuRx International (TW: 6575) in a press conference last week announced that after the recent completion of a Phase II clinical trial for its new drug Pentarlandir for the treatment of mild COVID-19 symptoms, it will soon submit a pre-Phase III clinical trial application to the US FDA and begin recruiting patients for the trial. More... (in Chinese) |
| 11. Lin Bioscience reports progress in the development of its eye disease drug LBS-008 24 October, 2022 Lin Bioscience (TW: 6696), reported last week that the company has made progress in the development of its new ophthalmic drug candidate LBS-008. The Phase III clinical trial of the disease is expected to close in March and April next year, with the company expecting to receive drug approval within two years. LBS-008 is a first-in-class oral therapy for the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD) and Stargardt Disease (STGD1). More... (in Chinese) |
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| Taiwan Bio Industry Organization | TEL: 886-27836028 | Email: biotaiwan@gmail.com |
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