Enimmune Corp (安特羅生技) has obtained marketing approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its EnVAX-A71 vaccine for enterovirus 71 (EV-71), becoming the nation’s first enterovirus vaccine completely made in Taiwan, it said yesterday.
After spending 13 years and NT$1.5 billion (US$49.77 million) on the research and development of the vaccine, Enimmune plans to start manufacturing and marketing it by the end of March, the company said in a statement, without disclosing customer order figures.
“It is possible that the vaccine would not be included in a national vaccination program initially, and consumers would need to pay for it themselves,” parent company Adimmune Corp (國光生技) told the Taipei Times yesterday.
Photo courtesy of Adimmune Corp
“However, we are working with the government, and hope that this vaccine could be included in a national vaccination program for children, as EV-71 is a common pathogen that causes polio-like syndrome and can lead to severe sickness,” Adimmune said.
As the vaccine would be administered to children younger than five and each child would need to have two shots, the total demand for the vaccine in Taiwan is estimated at 300,000 doses per year, the company said.
EnVAX-A71 is designed to act against genotype B4 of EV-71, which is widespread in Taiwan.
Enimmune has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Vietnamese state-run vaccine company to collaborate on EnVAX-A71 and is to complete a phase-three human test of the vaccine in the country in the near term.
In the long term, the company aims to enter the Southeast Asian market where demand for an enterovirus vaccine could exceed 20 million doses, it said, adding that it also plans to enter the Chinese market.
Enimmune’s revenue grew 72 percent year-on-year to NT$188 million last year, while Adimmune’s revenue grew 37 percent to NT$2.25 billion, companies data showed.
Local rival Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗) is also developing an enterovirus vaccine in Taiwan, but has not yet obtained marketing approval after submitting an application in 2021.
The EU and US are nearing an agreement to coordinate on producing and securing critical minerals, part of a push to break reliance on Chinese supplies. The potential deal would create incentives, such as minimum prices, that could advantage non-Chinese suppliers, according to a draft of an “action plan” seen by Bloomberg. The EU and US would also cooperate on standards, investments and joint projects, as well as coordinate on any supply disruptions by countries like China. The two sides are additionally seeking other “like-minded partners” to join a multicountry accord to help create these new critical mineral supply chains, which feed into
Elon Musk’s lieutenants have reached out to chip industry suppliers, including Applied Materials Inc, Tokyo Electron Ltd and Lam Research Corp, for his envisioned Terafab, early steps in an audacious and likely arduous attempt to break into the production of cutting-edge chips. Staff working for the joint venture between Tesla Inc and Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) have sought price quotes and delivery times for an array of chipmaking gear, people familiar with the matter said. In past weeks, they’ve contacted makers of photomasks, substrates, etchers, depositors, cleaning devices, testers and other tools, according to the people, who asked not to
Japan approved ￥631.5 billion (US$3.97 billion) in additional subsidies to hasten Rapidus Corp’s entry into the high-stakes artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaking arena, ramping up support for a project widely regarded as a long shot. The capital is intended to bankroll Rapidus’ work for information technology firm Fujitsu Ltd, one of the initial customers that Tokyo hopes would get the signature endeavor off the ground. The new money raises the fees and investments that the government is injecting into the start-up to ￥2.6 trillion by the end of the current fiscal year to March next year, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and
The founder of Chinese property giant Evergrande Group (恆大集團) has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and bribery, a court said yesterday, the latest blow for what was once the country’s leading developer. Evergrande’s rise was propelled by decades of rapid urbanization and rising living standards, but in 2020, its access to credit dramatically narrowed when the government introduced curbs on excessive borrowing and speculation. The company defaulted in 2021 after struggling to repay creditors. Founder Xu Jiayin (許家印), 67, known as Hui Ka Yan in Cantonese, was reportedly held by police in 2023, with Evergrande saying he had been subjected to
RSS