During the Chinese New Year holidays, Aprinoia Therapeutics was listed on the NASDAQ through a merger with Ross Acquisition Corp. II, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) of US investment giant Wilbur Ross. After the merger, the company was valued at approximately US$320 million.
Aprinoia focuses on tau protein-related neurodegenerative diseases and includes a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic products targeting Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and progressive supranuclear ophthalmoplegia, etc. The company has clinical approval and development data for its positron phototracer product 18F-APN-1607, which was licensed to a Chinese pharmaceutical group late last year for US$8 million in cash, RMB14 million and US$2 million in milestone payments.
In addition, Enimmune's enterovirus 71 vaccine has been approved by the TFDA and is expected to be launched in the first quarter, while PharmaEssentia's new drug for PV has been cleared by the Japanese authority and is expected to be approved in the first half of the year to enter the Eastern market.
PharmaEngine's new drug for pancreatic cancer has also achieved global pivotal clinical results for its first-line therapy and the company expects its licensing partner, Ipsen, to file for FDA approval in the first half of the year.
The FDA has provided a 483 report for Tanvex, indicating that there are no significant deficiencies in TX01, a biosimilar drug for the treatment of neutropenia caused by cancer chemotherapy, and it is expected to have a good chance of being licensed for sale this year.
Preliminary statistics show that the pharmaceutical sector that has gradually entered the harvest will strive for license in 2023. In addition to the said companies, TASCENSO, a drug of Handa Pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, will be marketed in the first quarter and its 032, a smoking cessation aid, will have a chance of license in the first half of the year; Medigen Vaccine Biologics's enterovirus 71 vaccine is targeted for license in Taiwan and Vietnam; Oneness Biotech's DFU drug is to be approved for license in China; PBF's NEPHOXIL has filed for license in China. Tanvex, Eirgenix's biosimilar drug and Formosa Pharmaceuticals's new drug APP13007 for post-operative eye inflammation and pain are all likely to be licensed this year.
It it believed that Chien-jen Chen, who comes from the Academia Sinica, with his background and research in public health, will be able to help bring the industry in line with international standards after taking over as the Executive Yuan president, and that the most talked-about regenerative medicine law will have a chance to pass, allowing Taiwan to catch up with the global cell therapy boom.
If the regenerative medicine laws are passed, companies such as UnicoCell, MetaTech Biomed, Ever Supreme Biotechnology, Bionet, Taiwan Bio Therapeutics and Lukas Biomedical, will benefit for further development in R&D and business.
