Lotus Pharmaceuticals Co (美時化學製藥) yesterday launched the world’s first generic equivalent of the oncology drug Revlimid (lenalidomide) in a number of central and east European markets.
The company’s bioequivalent drug has been approved in Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria and the Baltic states, and it is eyeing a global launch this year.
Revlimid treats multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes and mantle cell lymphoma, and is considered to be the single biggest-selling oncology drug, with approximately US$9.8 billion in global sales, the company said.
The product is marketed in the form of 2.5mg, 5mg, 7.5mg, 10mg, 15mg, 20mg and 25mg capsules, it said, adding that the new generic drug represents a milestone at its production plant in Nantou County.
The company last month also added Evista (raloxifene), which is used in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, to its portfolio of branded products via a US$22 million acquisition deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.
Lotus is to take over all of the product’s intellectual property and existing businesses in seven Asia-Pacific markets, including Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand, from April, while a formal closing of the deal is expected early next year.
In related news, TaiMed Biologics Inc (中裕新藥) yesterday said that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has completed onsite inspections of its manufacturing partner as the company nears the launch of Trogarzo, its HIV/AIDS drug in the single market.
TaiMed said that EMA inspectors found no critical deficiencies at the facilities at China’s WuXi AppTed (藥明康德), its manufacturing partner.
Trogarzo has been granted accelerated assessment procedure by the EMA and has been under review since September last year.
The company expects the drug to be approved before the end of next year.
Meanwhile, the company’s NT$1 billion protein manufacturing plant in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City (竹北) is expected to begin production next year, helping it reduce its reliance on costly contract manufacturing and diversify its supply sources.
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],”