Officials in Taiwan who kicked off hepatitis B awareness week yesterday will be happy to know a local research institute hopes to have a drug available to aid in the cure for liver cancer resulting from Hepatitis B within five years.
The National Health Research Institute (NHRI, 國家衛生研究院) has already begun clinical trials to determine the safety and efficacy of a drug said to aid in the cure of liver cancer (hepatoma).
According to Wu Cheng-wen (
"Hepatoma is very common in Asia, but [since it] is not prevalent in America or Europe, no international pharmaceutical company has made an effort in this area ... so we had to develop our own treatment," a source knowledgeable about the research said.
According to a report published by the Department of Health (衛生署), nearly 1,000 people in Taiwan die of cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer every year in Taiwan, with 80 percent of those cases resulting from hepatitis B.
More than three million people or 15 percent of the population are currently afflicted with the disease.
Hepatitis B is transmitted through bodily fluids like saliva, blood and semen, and kills by damaging the liver.
Although currently no cure exists, it is controlled through vaccination and other prevention methods.
If the research institutes' new drug helps cure liver cancer, it could ease the suffering of over 350 million people worldwide infected by the disease.
According to Philippe Auvaro, chairman of the European Council of Commerce and Trade's pharmaceutical committee, the drug will be a breakthrough for local research.
"I was surprised by Wu's announcement [of the drug development]," he said.
"It shows Taiwan is further ahead in [drug] research than previously thought."
It often takes a company 10 years to develop a commercially viable drug and over the course of those years, researchers must be paid, equipment bought and tests conducted.
According to Auvaro, the final tab can reach upwards of US$700 million.
Although the new drug appears to be coming along smoothly, researchers from the institute cautioned against too much optimism. Clinical testing has only just begun, and it remains to be seen how effective the drug is and whether or not harmful side effects may result from its use.
The hepatitis awareness week began yesterday in Taipei as part of a world-wide week-long event. A free five-minute hepatitis B blood test will be offered from Oct. 19 to 21 in northern, central and southern Taiwan.
The tests will be conducted in Kaohsiung, at the Chang Gung Hospital and Fong Shan Hospital on Oct. 19, 9am to 12pm. In Taichung on Oct. 21 at the China Medical College from 9am to 12pm and Taipei at the Mitsukoshi Department Store (Hsinyi branch) on Oct. 21 from 2pm to 6pm.
RSS