ScinoPharm Taiwan, specialising in the development and manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients, and TaiGen Biotechnology jointly announced the signing of a manufacturing contract for the clinical supply of the API of Burixafor, a new chemical entity discovered and developed by TaiGen.

The API will be manufactured in ScinoPharm’s plant in Changshu, China. This cooperation not only demonstrates Taiwan’s international competitive strength in new drug development, but also sees the beginning of a domestic pharmaceutical specialisation and cooperation mechanisms, thus establishing a groundbreaking milestone for Taiwan’s pharmaceutical industry.

Dr. Jo Shen, president and chief executive officer, of ScinoPharm said, “This cooperation with TaiGen is of representative significance in the domestic pharmaceutical companies’ upstream and downstream cooperation and self-development of new drugs, and indicates the Taiwanese pharmaceutical industry’s cumulative research and development momentum is paving the way forward”. Dr. Jo Shen emphasised, “ScinoPharm’s Changshu Plant provides high-quality API R&D and manufacturing services through its fast, flexible, reliable competitive advantages, effectively assisting clients of new drugs in gaining entry into China, Europe, the United States, and other international markets.”

According to Dr. Ming-Chu Hsu, chairman and chief executive officer, of TaiGen, “R&D is the foundation of the pharmaceutical industry. Once a drug is successfully developed, players at all levels of the value chain could reap the benefit. Burixafor is a 100 per cent in-house developed product that can be used in the treatment of various intractable diseases. The cooperation between TaiGen and ScinoPharm will not only be a win-win for both sides, but will also provide high-quality novel dug for patients from around the world.”

Burixafor is a novel stem cell mobiliser that can efficiently mobilise bone marrow stem cells and tissue precursor cells to the peripheral blood. It can be used in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, chemotherapy sensitisation and other ischemic diseases. The results of the ongoing Phase II clinical trial in the United States are very impressive. The drug has received a Clinical Trial Application from China’s FDA for the initiation of a Phase II clinical trial in chemotherapy sensitisation under the 1.1 category. According to the pharmaceutical consultancy company JSB, with only stem cell transplant and chemotherapy sensitiser as the indicator, Burixafor’s annual sales are estimated at USD1.1 billion.

ScinoPharm currently has accepted over 80 new drug API process research and development plans, of which five new drugs have been launched in the market. In addition, six products have entered Phase III clinical trials. Through the Changshu Plant’s operation in line with the latest international cGMP plant equipment and quality management standards, the company provides customers with one stop shopping services in professional R&D, manufacturing, and outsourcing, thereby shortening the customer development cycle of customers’ products and accelerating the launch of new products to the market.

TaiGen’s focus is on the research and development of novel drugs. Besides Burixafor, the products also include anti-infective, Taigexyn, and an anti-hepatitis C drug, TG-2349. Taigexyn is the first in-house developed novel drug that received new drug application approval from Taiwan’s FDA. TG-2349 is intended for the 160 million global patients with hepatitis C with huge market potential. TaiGen hopes to file one IND with the US FDA every 3-4 years to expand TaiGen’s product line.