Senhwa Biosciences Inc (生華生物科技) yesterday said that its partner Center For Advanced Research & Education (CARE) in Gainesville, Georgia, has filed an application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a phase II clinical trial of its new drug Silmitasertib for use by COVID-19 patients.
Since Silmitasertib, developed to treat cancer, has been proven safe in phase I human trials that Senhwa conducted on bile duct cancer patients in the US, CARE has applied to conduct the phase II clinical trial directly, Senhwa said by telephone.
The phase II trial would be led by Christopher Recknor, an internist at CARE, and the drug would be given for 14 days to 10 patients infected with COVID-19 to see if it is effective in fighting the coronavirus, a much lower number of patients than a regular phase II clinical trial, as it would be investigator-initiated, Senhwa said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
If the drug is proven to be effective, it would consider applying for another trial under the FDA’s emergency use authorization program, Senhwa said.
Another US partner, Banner Health, a non-profit health system based in Phoenix, Arizona, last week gained an emergency investigational new drug license, which enables it to use Silmitasertib on COVID-19 patients, Senhwa said.
Banner Health is to enroll five to 10 patients, who would be given Silmitasertib for 14 days to see if their symptoms diminish, it said.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
AVIATION: Despite production issues in the US, the Taoyuan-based airline expects to receive 24 passenger planes on schedule, while one freight plane is delayed The ongoing strike at Boeing Co has had only a minor impact on China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), although the delivery of a new cargo jet might be postponed, CAL chairman Hsieh Su-chien (謝世謙) said on Saturday. The 24 Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft on order would be delivered on schedule from next year to 2028, while one 777F freight aircraft would be delayed, Hsieh told reporters at a company event. Boeing, which announced a decision on Friday to cut 17,000 jobs — about one-tenth of its workforce — is facing a strike by 33,000 US west coast workers that has halted production
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
AI AIM: The chipmaker wants joint research and development programs with the Czech Republic, and the government is considering supporting investments in a Czech location Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is planning to build more plants in Europe with a focus on the market for artificial intelligence (AI) chips as the chipmaker expands its global footprint, a senior Taiwanese official said. “They have started construction of the first fab in Dresden; they are already planning the next few fabs in the future for different market sectors as well,” National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) told Bloomberg TV in an interview that aired yesterday. Wu did not specify a timeline for TSMC’s further expansion in Europe. TSMC in an e-mailed statement said it
RSS