Highlights of Everfront Biotech at the Taiwan Healthcare+ EXPO 2023
Date: December 2, 2023
The expert lecture, titled “The Cerebraca® Wafer Journey to the Global Stage” was delivered by Director Yuan-Sheng Lee from the Research and Development Department at Everfront Biotech.
Malignant brain tumors represent one of the most challenging types of tumors to treat, with an average survival period of only 4 to 6 months post-relapse. Medical treatment options and their effectiveness are limited, and no significantly improved therapeutic drugs have emerged in over 20 years. Everfront Biotech successfully transferred technology from Tzu Chi and Dong Hwa University, advancing the anti-malignant brain tumor targeted drug, Cerebraca® Wafer, to the completion of Phase IIa clinical trial enrollment in Taiwan. The initiation of the global Phase IIb clinical trial is anticipated next year.
Everfront Biotech was invited to collaborate with Hualien Tzu Chi Medical Center for the 2023 Taiwan Medical Technology Exhibition. A specialist lecture, themed “The Cerebraca® Wafer Journey to the Global Stage” was held on December 2nd at 1:00 PM. The event attracted numerous enthusiastic attendees, and post-event discussions involved many experts and scholars. The expectation is to swiftly progress into the Phase IIb stage with multiple international centers and successfully conclude patient enrollment.
Cerebraca® Wafer demonstrated outstanding performance in Phase I clinical trials, successfully extending survival periods by 3-4 times compared to current treatment modalities, positioning itself as a potential drug for combined brain tumor surgeries. Targeting the global market valued at $4 billion for anti-brain tumor drugs, the drug is poised to expand into pancreatic cancer treatment. Additionally, Everfront Biotech’s other potential product, oral EF-031 capsules, targets applications in cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and fibrotic diseases, with the potential to be a pioneering first-in-class drug. The combined market potential for these three major areas reaches $73 billion, and active Phase I clinical trials are underway, with the expectation of rapid progression to the next stage.
The expert lecture titled “The Cerebraca® Wafer Journey to the Global Stage” held at 1:00 PM on December 2nd, garnered enthusiastic responses from numerous attendees. Post-event discussions further involved a substantial number of experts and scholars.
Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin, the Superintendent of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, shared insights into the Phase I/IIa clinical trial experience of Cerebraca® Wafer, which commenced in 2017. Throughout this period, the trial not only confirmed the safety of the new drug but also witnessed the absence of drug-related adverse reactions during the clinical trial. The clinical research report for Phase IIa is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Published literature from Phase I reveals that the median overall survival period for patients with recurrent malignant brain tumors treated with Cerebraca® Wafer reached 26.2 months, a significant improvement compared to the 6.4 months with the control drug.
Dr. Lin highlighted the relative advantages demonstrated by Cerebraca® Wafer:
- More effective combat against cancer stem cells.
- Reduction in resistance to the current chemotherapy drug TMZ.
- Activation of the immune system, transforming cold lesions into hot lesions.
- Unaffected by the blood-brain barrier.
- Induction of apoptosis in cancer cells that surgery cannot remove.
Dr. Lin also shared several valuable real-world cases, including that of Mr. S, a patient in his 40s who discovered a glioma in the right parietal lobe in 2015. Despite undergoing two craniotomies, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted drug therapy, the tumor continued to grow, reaching the terminal stage of cancer. Seeking innovative therapy, he traveled to Taiwan for compassionate use. In 2019, after undergoing surgery to remove half of the malignant brain tumor at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Cerebraca® Wafer was implanted, successfully inhibiting the growth of tumor cells. Dr. Tsung-Lang Chiu, the Director of the Center for Neurological Medicine, stated that the team has been continuously monitoring Mr. S, and since the implantation of Cerebraca® Wafer, he has survived for over 3 years and 11 months.
Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital’s Superintendent, Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin, shared numerous valuable clinical cases.
Everfront Biotech is planning to initiate a multicenter Phase IIb clinical trial in 2024, with initial plans to conduct the trial at medical centers such as the UCSF Brain Tumor Center in San Francisco, Duke Cancer Center Brain Tumor Clinic, and the University of Minnesota in the United States.
We express our sincere gratitude to all those who enthusiastically participated in the Taiwan Healthcare+ EXPO 2023, and we appreciate the valuable feedback provided. We will continue to advance the clinical trials of our main product lines with confidence, anticipating the smooth execution of our new drug clinical programs and looking forward to the next stage of development. If you have further inquiries or wish to gain a deeper understanding of our clinical plans and new drug development, please feel free to contact us via email.
Contact Email: efbiotech@efbiotech.com
We sincerely appreciate the enthusiastic participation of friends from various sectors in the Taiwan Healthcare+ EXPO 2023. Additionally, we would like to express our gratitude for providing valuable feedback to Everfront Biotech.
We sincerely appreciate the enthusiastic participation of friends from various sectors in the Taiwan Healthcare+ EXPO 2023. Additionally, we would like to express our gratitude for providing valuable feedback to Everfront Biotech.