Janssen Pharmaceuticals has signed a collaboration agreement with the National Taiwan University (NTU) and the university’s hospital (NTUH) to cooperate on developing new drugs for treating hepatitis B. Despite the high success rate of viral suppression achieved by existing medications, the virus is currently incurable.
Chen Ding-shinn (陳定信), chair professor at National Taiwan University Medical College, said that there are more than 350 million people in the world infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), 60 to 70 percent of which are in Asia.
Every year, more than 600 thousand people die as a result of complications such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer caused by the virus.
“HBV can be transmitted prenatally [from mother to child] or by having contact with an infected person. While less than 3 percent of adults infected with the virus develop chronic hepatitis, more than 90 percent of infected newborns do,” Chen said. “Those who have chronic or persistent hepatitis B are at a high risk of developing liver cirrhosis or liver cancer later in life.”
There are about 2.4 million HBV carriers in Taiwan, Chen said, adding that statistics in 2011 showed that deaths attributable to liver cancer ranked No. 2 on the list of leading causes of death for men and women.
“Eighty percent to 90 percent of liver cancer patients had chronic hepatitis B,” he said.
“However, after Taiwan started vaccinating newborns against HBV in 1984, the number of yearly infections has decreased,” Chen said.
While the nation’s vaccination plan is an effective prevention measure, “having better control over the source of infection is still out of reach. Interferon, an approved medication for treating HBV infections is effective in only one-third of patients, while another treatment, nucleoside analogue therapy, inhibits viral replication without completely eliminating the virus.”
The collaboration is intended to develop a treatment to tackle the disease, Jansen, NTU and NTUH said in a joint statement.
Chen Pei-jer (陳培哲), a professor at the Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine in NTUH’s Medical College and the principal investigator of the collaboration, said the aim is to “accelerate the development of a new hepatitis B drug by combining the resources uniquely held by the respective partners.”
“NTU has been working in this research field for more than 50 years. NTU’s specialization and experience makes it peerless in the fields of drug research and development,” Chen Pei-jer said.
“Janssen has a large collection of compounds as drug candidates. They need a platform to see whether the candidates are safe and effective,” Chen Pei-jer added.
From the mouse model first established by the NTU research team for assaying anti-viral and immune-modulatory activity — an important indication of HBV eradication — and the woodchuck model, which demonstrates HBV activity most similar to that of human HBV, to recent clinical research, Taiwan has always been a leader in the field of HBV treatment, Chen Pei-jer said, adding that NTU’s research was “a complete line from bench to bedside and back.”
“We are aiming to take the lead in developing a new drug to fully eradicate HBV,” the lead investigator said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS