Everfront Biotech Participates in the 2024 National Biotechnology Research Park Demo Day Startup Pitch Competition
Date: May 31, 2024
Group photo of distinguished guests at the 2024 National Biotechnology Research Park Demo Day. Photo credit: National Biotechnology Research Park
On May 28, 2024, the National Biotechnology Research Park Demo Day grandly commenced, focusing on two key themes: “Building a New Biomedical Ecosystem” and “The Impact of Academic Research and Technology Transfer on New Drug Development Success.” This year also marked the debut of the “MIT Biotechnology Master Lecture,” sharing insights on how Boston successfully transformed into a global biotech hub. The event attracted participation from over 50 biomedical startups and academic research teams, as well as more than 500 attendees, including enterprises, investors, venture capitalists, accelerators, and angel investors from both domestic and international backgrounds.
Dr. James C. Liao, President of Academia Sinica, stated that the National Biotechnology Research Park Demo Day has become an annual highlight for Taiwan’s biomedical startups. This year, three teams will be selected from 15 participants to receive enhanced guidance and support from the park. Over the years, Demo Day has facilitated nearly 100 matchmaking meetings with international pharmaceutical companies and accelerators, as well as talent matching sessions. This year (2024), several international masters are invited to share their valuable experiences, and a special session titled “International Partner Linkage” is planned, focusing on international biotech startup exchanges, aiming to boost Taiwan’s biotech startups’ presence in the global market.
Welcome to watch from 1:51:58 to see Dr. Liu’s excellent pitch👇
Representing Everfront Biotech, Dr. Jen-Wei Liu, Chief Scientific Officer, will present on the topic: “Integrating local delivery and systemic administration to provide a comprehensive treatment solution for glioblastoma patients”. Photo credit: Demo Day on YouTubebe
Dr. Jen-Wei Liu, Chief Scientific Officer, representing Everfront Biotech. Photo credit: Demo Day on YouTube
Dr. Jen-Wei Liu, Chief Scientific Officer, representing Everfront Biotech. Photo credit: Demo Day on YouTube
Dr. Jen-Wei Liu, Chief Scientific Officer, representing Everfront Biotech. Photo credit: Facebook-GeneOnline
On May 29, an exciting pitch competition will be held, featuring top talents from the domestic biotech industry, government, and academia. This event will showcase innovative research and development achievements, with startup investors and industry experts serving as judges, providing comprehensive feedback to participants, and increasing opportunities for collaboration and investment partnerships.
Representing Everfront Biotech, Dr. Jen-Wei Liu, Chief Scientific Officer, will present on the topic: “Integrating local delivery and systemic administration to provide a comprehensive treatment solution for glioblastoma patients” Using the treatment of malignant brain cancer as an example, Everfront Biotech’s cutting-edge Cerebraca® Wafer provides localized, high-concentration, sustained release at the site of brain tumor resection to treat recurrent malignant brain tumor patients. This is complemented by the investigational oral softgel capsule EF-031, which can cross the blood-brain barrier after ingestion, continuously inhibiting cancer cells and stem cells, reducing chemotherapy drug resistance, and preventing immune escape by transforming cold tumors into hot tumors, thereby increasing the likelihood of immune cells killing cancer cells. Additionally, the EF-031 softgel capsule has potential applications beyond brain tumors, including solid tumors such as pancreatic cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and fibrotic diseases. This is one of Everfront Biotech’s actively pursued new drug development projects.
Source:
- DEMO DAY official website https://demoday.biotrec.sinica.edu.tw/
- Demo Day on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbfTZaUJv9o
- Gene Online https://geneonline.news/https-geneonline-news-2024-nbrp-demo-day-pitch/
Product Highlights of Cerebraca® Wafer:
Everfront Biotech’s innovative new drug, Cerebraca® Wafer, is a precision medicine sustained-release wafer that revolutionizes the treatment of malignant brain cancer. Through multiple patented novel features, Cerebraca® Wafer has successfully addressed the challenges of treating malignant brain cancer, which is difficult to manage and prone to relapse. Chemotherapy gradually loses its effectiveness against brain cancer cells due to their drug resistance, and the high proportion of cancer stem cells further exacerbates the problem of cancer recurrence and treatment resistance. However, these issues can be addressed by the pharmacological mechanism of action of Cerebraca® Wafer. In addition, malignant brain cancer cells express PD-L1, which renders the immune system unable to kill cancer cells. The successful development of Cerebraca® Wafer has also addressed this issue. In Phase I clinical trials, Cerebraca® Wafer has demonstrated efficacy without any drug-related adverse reactions. The median or average cumulative survival of relapsed malignant brain cancer patients has reached 25-26 months, which is significantly better than existing strategies such as Gliadel® wafer implantation (6.4 months), Temodal capsules (5.8 months), or Avastin injection (9.4 months). Cerebraca® Wafer has been approved by the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Human Research Ethics Committee of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital for compassionate use trials. For malignant brain cancer patients who cannot undergo surgery and have tumors growing at the cervical spine, implanting Cerebraca® Wafer through a small incision has resulted in tumor shrinkage. In addition, combining Cerebraca® Wafer with cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK) for treatment can achieve a recurrence-free survival period of more than 40 months. With its outstanding clinical results, Everfront Biotech Inc. is actively seeking partners to jointly develop this new drug and help more malignant brain cancer patients.
Introduction to Everfront Biotech Inc.:
Everfront Biotech Inc. targets unmet medical needs by developing orphan drugs to treat some of the world’s most lethal diseases. Founded in 2010, the company focuses on the research and development of new drugs, emphasizing the screening of potential small molecules and advancing them to clinical trials. From initial product development to preclinical research, chemical manufacturing and control, new drug clinical trial applications, clinical trial planning, and execution, all these tasks are led by the company’s dedicated team.
Currently, Everfront has three clinical trials approved in the United States and Taiwan, including Cerebraca® Wafer (for malignant brain tumors), HK-001 (for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), and EF-009 (for pancreatic cancer).
Everfront Biotech actively aligns with national new drug development policies. Both Cerebraca® Wafer and HK-001 have received biotech new drug certification. The company also actively participates in national projects, with three special projects and one SBIR project receiving funding from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
