Everfront Biotech’s Cerebraca® Wafer has Completed the Phase I – Safety Evaluation for the Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme, and has Initiated the Phase IIa – efficacy Evaluation
Date: April 29, 2022
Dr. Pei-Wen Chou, Chairman and CEO of Everfront Biotech Inc., stated that more than 10 drugs in development have been recognized and published by internationally renowned medical journals such as Cancers, attracting collaboration from global technology industries and pharmaceutical companies, with the hope of benefiting patients with brain tumors and other diseases worldwide. (Photo/ Hui-Xuan Li)
Everfront Biotech Inc., a company focused on developing new drugs for over 20 years, specializing in cancer, neurodegenerative, and rare diseases, has developed a small molecule targeted therapy for glioblastoma multiforme called Cerebraca® Wafer. The drug will complete phase II clinical trials at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Taipei Tri-Service General Hospital, and Taichung Veterans General Hospital, and is preparing to publish its findings in the renowned international journal, Cancers. This breakthrough from a local Taiwanese research team has not only energized the medical community, but also prompted the company to seek international collaborations through an initial public offering.
Founder and president of Everfront Biotech Inc., Ho-ching Chen, and Chairman and CEO Dr. Pei-wen Chiou have devoted years of effort and resources into the development of new drugs for critically ill patients. Both individuals stated that their motivation stemmed from seeing their family members suffer from illness and wanting to give back to society. Supporting the drug development for glioblastoma multiforme of Dr. Sinn-Zong Lin, Superintendent of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, was a serendipitous opportunity.
Ho-ching Chen, born in Zhongli, was the sixth child out of nine siblings. His father worked as a miner in Ruifang to support the family. After graduating from Taichung Sha-Lu Senior High School, he worked and studied part-time. After serving in the military, he started a business selling computers with a friend. Following a failed venture in scrap metal recycling, he made a comeback in Singapore, accumulating substantial wealth. Fifteen years ago, he returned to Taiwan and took over hotels in Sun Moon Lake, Alishan, Chiayi, and ventured into the field of biotech, focusing on the development of new drugs.
Professor Shinn-Zong Lin, the Superintendent of Tzu Chi Hospital Hualien, is one of the authorities in the field of neuroscience with 40 years of experience in clinical practice and clinical trials (left one). He currently serves as an advisor to Everfront Biotech Inc., while on the right are the founder and President of Everfront Biotech Inc,, Ho-Ching Chen, and Dr. Pei-Wen Chiou (photo provided by Everfront Biotech Inc.).
The family that Ho-Ching Chen refers to is his mother. In the process of searching for medication to alleviate his mother’s pain, he learned that Professor Shinn-Zong Lin had been contemplating a solution to fight malignant tumors since 2002. Together with Professor Horng-Jyh Harn, they analyzed anti-cancer components extracted from Chinese herbal medicine, and verified that Dong Quai’s separation of small molecules could have anti-cancer effects on brain cancer. With the addition of Professor Tzyy-Wen Chiou to the team, they started drug synthesis, formulation research, and process development.
The first slow-release anti-cancer small molecule wafer, Cerebraca® Wafer, was launched in 2006. After learning about the team’s research, Ho-Ching decided to join and help develop new drugs. In 2010, Everfront Biotechnology Inc. was established, and the team currently consists of more than 20 experts in clinical medicine, pathology, pharmaceutical biochemistry, and other fields, with over 100 patents and other achievements.
Pei-Wen Chiou, the chairman of Everfront Biotech Inc., stated that she had witnessed the research team led by Professor Shinn-Zong Lin’s tireless efforts in developing drugs over the years. As a patient’s family, she could feel their dedication and hard work, and she decided to take practical action to support their determination to develop new drugs.
Pei-Wen Chiou pointed out that for Cerebraca® Wafer, which targets glioblastoma multiforme, it demonstrated exciting therapeutic effects in the phase I clinical trial for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme. The safety response of the participants in terms of wound healing, brain-related adverse reactions, and absence of brain swelling was excellent. Patients who received the highest dose of 6 Cerebraca® Wafer had a survival period of more than 19 months, which was 2-3 times longer than other conventional treatments.
A patient with glioblastoma multiforme growing in the spinal cord area underwent surgery, but the central nervous system glioblastoma could not be completely removed. Following the physician’s recommendation, the patient participated in the compassionate trial of the Cerebraca® Wafer project. After the surgery, the tumor gradually shrank and disappeared. The patient has now survived for over two years. (Image captured from Everfront Biotech Inc. report.)
The paper reporting on the phase I trial of Everfront Biotech‘s Cerebraca® Wafer for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme has been accepted for publication in the renowned international journal – Cancers. This recognition and endorsement from experts and scholars in the field of brain tumors is a validation of the clinical results.
Pei-Wen Chiou also mentioned that EF-009, which is used to treat pancreatic cancer, the Investigational New Drug application has been approved by the USFDA and the Taiwan Ministry of Health and will soon enter a phase I trial. A phase I human clinical trial of a drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is also planned for this year.
Everfront Biotech Inc. is currently continuing to develop drugs that will enter clinical trials one after another, expanding their applications to include indications such as Alzheimer’s disease, cerebellar atrophy, liver cirrhosis, pulmonary fibrosis, and potentially developing a next generation of immunotherapies.
The international journal – Cancers recently published a paper on the phase I trial of Everfront Biotech’s Cerebraca® Wafer for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme. The image shows a brain section. (Image / taken from the international journal – Cancers)
