General Biologicals Corp (GBC, 普生) is upbeat on sales this year as the company’s line of in vitro hepatitis diagnostic products have been made available on the local market and are covered by the National Health Insurance (NHI).
Following the launch of its hepatitis D testing kit earlier this month, the company now covers all variations of the disease, including hepatitis A, B and C, GBC vice president Frank Lin (林孟德) said yesterday, adding that the company is also expecting sales contributions from its overseas expansion efforts in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
The company, which has inked a technology transfer deal with Saudi Arabia’s Tawasef Biotech, is slated to post sales from the region in the near term as its partner begins shipping the first batch of locally produced hepatitis B diagnostic kits.
In Indonesia, sales could begin accelerating next quarter as its distribution partnership with PT. UBC Medical Indonesia begins to bear fruit.
GBC chairman Lin Tsong-ching (林宗慶) said the company is also eyeing opportunities from growing demand for advanced cancer diagnostic products.
The company has been working with major hospitals in Taiwan to offer patients circulating tumor cells (CTC) diagnostics, he said.
Known as ‘liquid biopsy’, CTC testing allows patients to undergo non-invasive blood tests without the need to extract tissue samples, he said.
GBC’s CTC testing allows pathologists to identify cancerous cells in patients and recommend required treatments.
However, CTC testing is not covered by the NHI and the company is aiming to collect enough data from patients who have elected to pay for the treatment to submit an application to the Food and Drug Administration, Lin Tsong-ching said.
Meanwhile, the company is also seeking to increase the sales contribution from its clinical trial services business, he said, adding that customers have been coming to GBC for its expertise in identifying biomarkers and its Good Manufacturing Practices-certified facilities.
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS