New drug developer TaiRX Inc (台睿生技) on Wednesday announced that the government has certified the company as a technology firm, opening the way for it to gain listing on the Taipei Exchange (TPEX).
The Industrial Development Bureau has issued a favorable opinion regarding the market viability of the company’s products and development pipeline, it said.
The certification is a part of government efforts to promote fledgling businesses, such as new drug developers, and allows applicants to bypass profitability requirements and raise capital from the Taipei Exchange.
The company said that CVM-1118, its new synthetic small molecule designed to inhibit vasculogenic mimicry in malignant tumors, has begun phase II trials in Taiwan and the US for late-stage liver cancer and neuroendocrine tumors that have little treatment options.
The small molecule, which has been registered with the WHO under the name Foslinanib, could become one of the first targeted therapy options that is capable of suppressing tumor growth and treat multiple types of cancers, the company said.
The company’s revenue prospects have also improved after obtaining approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market Zelnite, its newly developed treatment for selenium deficiency.
In related news, ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Ltd (亞獅康) on Wednesday announced that it has completed patient enrollment in its major phase II trial for varlitinib, its bile duct carcinoma drug.
The company has enrolled 127 patients ahead of schedule in 56 medical centers in the US, Europe, Australia, Japan and other Asian countries, it said.
The study is expected to be completed in the second half of this year and favorable data could help expedite varlitinib’s application with the US Food and Drug Administration as a new second-line targeted therapy option for bile duct carcinoma patients.
Authorities in the US and South Korea have also extended orphan drug status to varlitinib to help address the lack of treatment options for the disease.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”