The National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) announced yesterday that it has formed an alliance with six local pharmaceutical manufacturers to conduct investigational new drug trials on humans of its developed anti-diabetes drug, DPP-IV, at Taipei Veterans General Hospital (TVGH).

The alliance -- composed of Genovate Biotechnology, the Taipei-based China Chemical and Pharmaceutical Co., Nang Kuang Pharmaceutical, Yuan Shin Group, TTY Biopharm, and Taiwan Biotech -- recently obtained investment from the government's National Development Fund, according to the NHRI.

Chao Yu-sheng, director of the NHRI Division of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Research, estimated that the first- and second-stage clinical trials will require NT$200 million (US$5.9 million) , with the national fund to cover 85 percent of the cost and the alliance to take care of the rest.

TVGH will supervise the trials on humans, Chao noted.

Noting it will take 10-15 years and an investment of US$1 billion to get a new drug to the market, Chao added that the third stage of clinical trials for the DPP-IV inhibitor will be undertaken overseas.

At that point, the local pharmaceutical factories that have obtained the NHRI technology transfer might offer authorization to use the technology in exchange for further injections of capital.

Diabetes is considered to be the world's fourth top killer. In the global market, there are drugs developed by Merck and Novartis that have proven effective in treating Type 2 diabetes patients.

Chao, who led the DPP-IV inhibitor development, said he has discovered during animal tests that the chemical elements of the new drug are similar to that of the Merck drug, but the effect is better.