Chunghwa Chemical Synthesis & Biotech Co Ltd (CCSB, 中化合成生技) yesterday said that it is ready to produce remdesivir, an experimental antiviral drug being studied as a treatment for COVID-19, if the government determines that it is safe and effective against the novel coronavirus that causes the disease.
The company earlier this week completed the synthesis of 4.73g of remdesivir with a purity of 99.72 percent.
“We spent about two weeks replicating the drug. The synthesis part was not time-consuming, but we spent some time waiting for ingredients from abroad,” CCSB spokesman Eason Wang (王冠傑) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
The company purchased the processed ingredients from overseas, as it lacks low-temperature equipment to proceed with synthesis, he said.
“As some chemical reactions have to take place at a very low temperature — about minus-78°C — when combining the compounds to make remdesivir, a special device is necessary,” Wang said, adding that the firm is considering buying such equipment to enable full production.
CCSB, a manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients, was the latest local institution or company to succeed in replicating the experimental drug after Academia Sinica and Formosa Laboratories Inc (台耀化學).
Remdesivir, developed by US-based Gilead Sciences Inc, has shown promising results in fighting the novel coronavirus in an early analysis of overseas studies, Wang said.
Taiwan is also conducting clinical trials to test the drug’s efficacy, he said.
As no definitive conclusion on whether remdesivir is an effective treatment for COVID-19 has been made and Gilead has a patent for the drug, CCSB does not plan to mass-produce it, unless the government makes it compulsory for local companies to produce such drugs, Wang said.
With a stable supply of ingredients from overseas, CCSB could manufacture 30kg of remdesivir within 12 weeks, which should be enough to treat 30,000 patients, who would each need about 1.1g, he said.
“As the spread of COVID-19 seems to have abated in Taiwan,” with the Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday reporting zero new cases for the third time this week, “we do not expect high demand for the drug domestically,” Wang said.
However, local regulators might consider allowing companies to produce the drug to help other nations deal with escalating outbreaks of the disease, as the government earlier this month donated masks to affected countries, he said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
STABLE RESULTS: Despite June’s lower consolidated revenue, second-quarter sales still reached a record high, driven by demand for chips for AI applications Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$263.71 billion (US$9.02 billion) for last month, its second-lowest monthly result this year. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement that its revenue last month only fared better than the NT$260.01 billion posted in February. Last month’s figure rose 26.9 percent from a year earlier, but slumped 17.7 percent from May, the company said. However, second-quarter revenue reached NT$933.8 billion, a record high for a single quarter, company data showed. The figure represented growth of 11.26 percent from the first quarter and 38.6 percent from a year earlier. Previously, TSMC said that
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