TaiGen Biopharmaceuticals Holdings Ltd (太景) on Thursday said that its hepatitis C drug, Furaprevir (TG-2349), has secured patent protection in the US until May 2037.
Apart from the US patent on Furaprevir’s solid dispersion formulation, the drug is protected by 98 patents in other major markets, the company said.
The US market for hepatitis C treatment is dominated by Gilead Sciences Inc’s offerings and becoming increasingly saturated, a TaiGen investor relations manager said.
Therefore, a US patent would be beneficial to the market value of TaiGen’s hepatitis C therapy, said the manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Furaprevir, a NS3/4A protease inhibitor, is a component of a combination therapy being developed by a joint venture established by TaiGen and China’s HEC Pharma Co (東陽光藥), which supplies Yimitasvir (DAG-181), the NS 5 protein inhibitor that makes up the other half of the combination.
The combination therapy has begun phase 2 clinical trials in China and recruited about 80 percent of patients required for the study in about three months, the company said, adding that it would take two to three years to make the same progress in Taiwan.
Phase 2 clinical trials are expected to be completed before the end of this year, making TaiGen eligible for a US$5 million milestone payment from its Chinese partner, the company said.
The company plans to start phase 3 trials next year and expects to receive up to US$15 million in milestone payments between 2020 and 2021, it said.
TaiGen said its focus is still on China, where an estimated 10 million people could potentially be exposed to hepatitis C.
The Chinese market is anticipated to grow as local cities step up diagnostic and treatment efforts, the company said.
TaiGen shares have risen 0.23 percent this year, closing at NT$21.75 on Friday, lower than the biotech sub-index, which has gained 13.26 percent over the period.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
RSS