TaiMed AIDS drugs expected to enter market in three years

Wong, who doubles as a board member of TaiMed Biologics — a new firm soon to be established in the Hsinchu Biomedical Park in northern Taiwan with a big chunk of capital invested by the state-owned National Development Fund — said at a news conference he is glad that Ho is willing to serve as a co-founder of the new company and director of clinical research and application of new AIDS drugs.

Clinical tests of the new AIDS drugs are expected to be conducted in the United States and other countries, including Taiwan, Wong said.

He added that in addition to AIDS drugs, other pharmaceuticals, such as drugs for influenza and avian flu, will also be researched and developed by TaiMed Biologics in Taiwan, with most clinical experiments being conducted abroad. Also addressing the news conference, Ho Mei-yueh, chairwoman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, said that the National Development Fund will help pay for the establishment of TaiMed Biologics Co., with capital estimated at US$50 million, adding that the NDF plans to hold a 40 percent share in the company.

Noting that TaiMed Biologics has gained patent authorization from the U.S.-based Genentech Inc. for its lead clinical product, TNX-355, a potential treatment for HIV and AIDS patients, Ho Mei-yueh said it marks a breakthrough in Taiwan’s biotech industry.

She added that the U.S. company reported positive results in a Phase 2 clinical trial of TNX-355, and expects a Phase 2b trial to be conducted in the fourth quarter of this year in the United States, Europe and South America.

Also speaking at the news conference, David Ho, a Taiwan-born AIDS expert who is director of the New York-based Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, said TaiMed Biologics enjoys the benefits of ‘A class’ teamwork and ‘A+ class’ supervisors.

David Ho noted that the Taiwan-developed AIDS drugs are expected to be marketed in the United States, Europe and Japan once they have passed clinical trials.

Tsai Ing-wen will be chairwoman of TaiMed Biologics and Ho Mei-yueh will be a company supervisor. Other members of the TaiMed Biologics board of directors include Chen Lan-bo, a Harvard University professor and founder of the Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp., a biopharmaceutical company.

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