The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration estimates that COVID-19 will infect 110 million people annually in the coming years. Coupled with the seasonal influenza epidemic, the market potential is enormous. Over 11 biotechnology companies, including Oneness Biotech, Advagene Biopharma, StemCyte, Ever Supreme, and Rock BioMedical, are accelerating the development of therapies leveraging nucleic acid, cell, and glycan technologies, positioning themselves for global competition.
Preliminary statistics show continuous investments in COVID-19 drug development. Beyond Medigen’s COVID-19 vaccine, which has been licensed to the World Health Organization’s C-TAP and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), other advancements include nucleic acid drugs such as SNS812, co-developed by Oneness and Microbio Pharmaceutical in Shanghai, and IG-001 from Intelligene. Meanwhile, StemCyte, Ever Supreme, and BIONET are focusing on cell therapies, while Advagene is specializing in nasal spray formulations.
Rock BioMedical, founded on technology transferred by former Academia Sinica President Chi-Huey Wong, is drawing attention with its broad-spectrum COVID-19 glycan protein vaccine. Additionally, ABC-KY has developed a "7-in-1 COVID-19 and Influenza Test," which has secured a Z-Code for insurance reimbursement in the U.S., paving the way for expanded market share.
Oneness Biotech's SNS812, a nucleic acid inhalable aerosol treatment for mild to moderate COVID-19 patients, is leading in development progress. Phase II clinical trials have successfully unblinded with data showing excellent safety, efficacy, and broad-spectrum potential. Oneness CEO Shuling Cheng noted that the promising trial results exceeded expectations, and the company is actively pursuing collaborations with international pharmaceutical giants and evaluating Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) applications in various countries.
Similarly, Intelligene’s nucleic acid drug development focuses on two key process technologies: lipid nanoparticle encapsulation and exosome drug delivery. The company is concentrating on anti-infective nucleic acid drugs while building Taiwan's first GMP pilot plant for the production of nucleic acid therapies using these encapsulation technologies.
In cell therapy, StemCyte’s umbilical cord blood therapy RegeneCyte is the world’s first to treat long COVID using umbilical cord blood cells. It is currently in Phase II clinical trials in the U.S. and has received FDA recognition as a regenerative medicine advanced therapy (RMAT), potentially accelerating its pathway to market.
Ever Supreme’s allogeneic umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell drug UMSC01 targets severe and critical COVID-19 cases and has been approved for Phase I/II trials in the U.S. and Taiwan. Meanwhile, BIONET’s BU-01, another umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell therapy, focuses on treating acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and is in the patient enrollment stage of its Phase II trials.
In the influenza treatment arena, companies such as TaiGen Biopharmaceuticals, Advagene, Rock BioMedical, and Intelligene are advancing development. TaiGen’s TG-1000 has been licensed to Joincare Pharmaceutical Group in China, with a new drug application already submitted to China’s National Medical Products Administration.
Resource: 新冠、流感常態 11好漢打國際戰
