Release issued 9th September 2008

9 September, 2008
With Taiwan a treasure chest of accumulated knowledge in the ancient discipline of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), increasing numbers of companies within Taiwan's burgeoning life science industry space are parlaying this know-how into all the development of new drug candidates covering a wide range of unmet medical needs.

Let's examine some of these companies and take a look at some of the discoveries and therapies coming out of their shiny new laboratories.

Medigreen Biotechnology Corp.:
(www.medigreen.com)
Medigreen, a subsidiary of Taiwanese cancer drug specialists Medigen Biotechnology Corp, has a rich and diverse pipeline of botanically-derived drug candidates in such areas as asthma, chemotherapy, and gastric ulcers. Of particular interest is '1217B', Medigreen's US FDA IND- approved new drug candidate that inhibits the synthesis of several key pro-inflammatory mediators involved in the pathophysiology of allergic asthma.

PhytoHealth Corporation:
(www.phytohealth.com.tw)
A subsidiary of Mayufa, one of Taiwan's largest healthcare conglomerates, PhytoHealth has a robust drug development pipeline, including adjuvants for cancer and vaccine administration, a cough prevention formulation, as well as promising drug candidates for osteoporosis, diabetic vascular complications, and influenza.

NatureWise Biotech & Medicals Corporation:
(www.naturewise.com.tw)
NatureWise is already quite well known in Taiwan for having developed a pioneering cholesterol prescription medicine, LipoCol Forte, and an over-the-counter health food equivalent, LipoCol. The company is currently working on on a naturally-derived formulation (from Taiwanese-sourced bee propolis, what's more) with promising implications in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s diseases. This company is certainly one to watch over the next few years.

National Taiwan University
(www.mbc.ntu.edu.tw/faculty/PanTM/PanTM2.htm)
Researchers at the Department of Biochemical Science & Technology, part of the College of Life Science, are working on new products derived from the traditional Chinese medicinal ingredient of fermented red mold rice. Two particularly interesting projects include the development of a low cholesterol eggs, produced through the addition of red mold rice to hen’s feed; and a new agent for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, comprised of monacolins, anti-inflammation agents and anti-oxidant compounds, once again derived from red mold rice.

Microbio Company Ltd.:
(www.microbio.com.tw)
As is common for the herbal drug discovery companies, this company's main revenue source is in the production and marketing of nutritional supplements. In addition, Microbio also supplies raw materials to many of Taiwan's pharmaceutical companies. The company’s platform technology revolves around bio-transformation, applying the symbiotic fermentation process to many of the company’s products. In terms of new drug research, Microbio is currently focusing its efforts on a new treatment for diabetic foot ulcers, and on new cancer therapy agents.

BrainGenesis Biotechnology Co., Ltd.:
(www.braingenesis.com.tw)
BrainGenesis is working on the development of innovative treatment therapies for ischemic stroke. Their new drug candidate, BNG-1, is a novel mix of traditional Chinese medicines with anti-platelet aggregation and anti-thrombotic activity for both the prevention and treatment of cerebral stroke.

Golden Biotechnology Corporation:
(www.goldenbiotech.com.tw)
In addition to its major business as a supplier of high-quality botanical extracts for the nutraceutical and herbal supplements industries, Golden Biotechnology is also a botanically-derived drug discovery and development company. It has built a number of proprietary bio-databanks, including a fermentation databank, with over 4,000 fungus strains screened and stored; a natural products collection, holding 480 herbs and over 1,000 indigenous plants; and a chemical databank of natural compounds. One new therapy area Golden Biotechnology is focusing its attention on is prostate cancer with its new Antroquinonol® cancer treatment agent, developed using natural organic chemistry.

SunTen Phytotech Co., Ltd.:
(www.stpt.com.tw)
An offshoot of the long-established and well-known Taiwanese TCM firm Sun Ten Pharmaceutical, SunTen Phytotech uses modern biotechnology methods to develop new drug candidates from established TCM remedies. Its pipeline includes new drugs in the cardiovascular, asthma, GI tract, and skin disease therapy areas.

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(21st July 2009) BioBusiness Asia 2009 opens in Taipei

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