Everfront Biotech Inc. and Buddhist Tzu Chi Hospital Jointly Develop New Drugs
Date: March 24, 2018
Chairman Pei-Wen Chou (center) of Everfront Biotech Inc., with Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin (fourth from right), the Superintendent of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital.
Everfront Biotech Inc. (Everfront Biotech) conducted its first clinical trial at both Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, where Shinn-Zong Lin, the principal investigator, and Dr. Tsung-Lang Chiu, the director, oversaw the trial, and Taipei Tri-Service General Hospital, where Sin-I Ma, the principal investigator, along with directors Yuan-Hao Chen, Dr. Tung-Yuan Hong, and Dr. Wei-Hsiu Liu, conducted the trial. On December 25, 2017, the first Phase I human trial on “Brain-implanted targeted drug treatment for high grade recurrent glioblastoma multiforme” was initiated at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, marking a significant milestone for Everfront Biotech Inc. in developing drugs to treat glioblastoma multiforme.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are over 250,000 cases of brain and nervous system tumors worldwide annually. The most common and fatal is glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), with less than 30% survival rate at 2 years and less than 3% at 5 years. In Taiwan, the number of brain malignant tumor patients has been increasing yearly, with an average of around 600 new cases annually, based on the Health Promotion Administration’s annual cancer registry reports from 1995 to 2013. GBM is the most prevalent type of brain tumor in Taiwan.
Chairman Pei-Wen Chou of Everfront Biotech Inc. said that the company has initiated multiple new drug development plans, invested in long-term scientific research, and developed and mastered several core patents, giving the company confidence in the quality of the targeted drugs for brain cancer treatment.
Shinn-Zong Lin, the chief investigator of the clinical trial, expressed that the first test subject has completed the implantation of targeted drug in the brain and that the safety assessment for 21 days has been completed with the cooperation of the team. The clinical trial team will continue to monitor the long-term safety and effectiveness assessment of the subject and recruit more participants to provide new hope for the treatment of high grade glioblastoma multiforme.
Everfront Biotech Inc. and Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital signed a letter of intent for new drug development cooperation, where Tzu Chi Hospital will execute the Phase I trial of the new targeted drug for glioblastoma multiforme, with the goal of assisting patients in need of treatment.
