Drug maker Taiwan Liposome Co (TLC, 台灣微脂體) yesterday said it has obtained a permit for the production and sale of AmBiL, a generic drug used to cure systematic fungi infection, allowing the sale of the drug in Taiwan by the end of this year providing it receives approval from the Bureau of National Health Insurance for subsidies.
AmBiL would be manufactured and sold in Taiwan by Yungshin Pharmaceutical Industry Co Ltd (永信藥品), TLC said.
Taiwan Liposome said the cheaper AmBiL can compete with AmBisome, the leading drug used for treating the condition, which generated NT$120 million (US$4 million) in local sales last year.
AmBiL is one of the few substitutes for AmBisome that is less toxic, the company added.
Taiwan Liposome will apply for drug permits for AmBiL in the US and Europe, which is expected to take between one and one-and-a-half years, a company official said.
Global sales of AmBisome were US$479 million last year, with most of the money coming from the US and Europe, according to Evaluate Pharma, a provider of pharmaceutical and biotech analysis, said the official, who declined to be named.
Taiwan Liposome is expected to post a profit of NT$38 million this year, compared with losses of NT$187 million last year, after the company last week signed a US$39.5 million deal with US-based SciClone Pharmaceuticals to license its ProFlow drug in China, a Jih Sun Securities Co (日盛證券) forecast said.
The company’s shares rose 5.46 percent to NT$367 yesterday, outperforming the GRETAI’s 0.33 percent decrease.
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