Everfront Biotech Team Receives 2023 National Innovation Award
Date: 2024/1/18
Everfront Biotech Receives the 20th National Innovation Award on December 25, 2023, for “Cerebraca® Wafer Combatting Human Glioblastoma (GBM).”
Everfront Biotech Inc. was honored with the 20th National Innovation Award on December 25, 2023, recognizing our outstanding achievements in the field of combating glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) with Cerebraca® Wafer. The clinical trial program successfully concluded the Phase IIa clinical trial at Hualien Tzu Chi Medical Center, Tri-Service General Hospital, and Taichung Veterans General Hospital in April 2023. In June of the same year, it passed the review of the Fast Track program by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. We anticipate completing the clinical trial report in 2024 and subsequently engaging in in-depth communication with the U.S. FDA to prepare for the next pivotal clinical trial phase.
Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most challenging tumors to treat in humans, with an average survival period of only 4 to 6 months upon recurrence. Current medical treatment methods and effectiveness are significantly limited, with no more effective drugs emerging in over 20 years. The Everfront Biotech team successfully conducted technology transfer and developed the novel drug Cerebraca® Wafer to combat malignant brain tumors. The clinical trial was initiated in 2017 and smoothly concluded the Taiwan Phase IIa clinical trial enrollment. According to published Phase I journals, the median overall survival period for patients with recurrent malignant brain tumors treated with Cerebraca® Wafer reached 26.2 months, showcasing remarkable results in subsequent developments that are eagerly anticipated.
Product Highlights of Cerebraca® Wafer:
Everfront Biotech’s innovative new drug, Cerebraca® Wafer, is a precision medicine sustained-release wafer that revolutionizes the treatment of malignant brain cancer. Through multiple patented novel features, Cerebraca® Wafer has successfully addressed the challenges of treating malignant brain cancer, which is difficult to manage and prone to relapse. Chemotherapy gradually loses its effectiveness against brain cancer cells due to their drug resistance, and the high proportion of cancer stem cells further exacerbates the problem of cancer recurrence and treatment resistance. However, these issues can be addressed by the pharmacological mechanism of action of Cerebraca® Wafer. In addition, malignant brain cancer cells express PD-L1, which renders the immune system unable to kill cancer cells. The successful development of Cerebraca® Wafer has also addressed this issue. In Phase I clinical trials, Cerebraca® Wafer has demonstrated efficacy without any drug-related adverse reactions. The median or average cumulative survival of relapsed malignant brain cancer patients has reached 25-26 months, which is significantly better than existing strategies such as Gliadel® wafer implantation (6.4 months), Temodal capsules (5.8 months), or Avastin injection (9.4 months). Cerebraca® Wafer has been approved by the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Human Research Ethics Committee of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital for compassionate use trials. For malignant brain cancer patients who cannot undergo surgery and have tumors growing at the cervical spine, implanting Cerebraca® Wafer through a small incision has resulted in tumor shrinkage. In addition, combining Cerebraca® Wafer with cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK) for treatment can achieve a recurrence-free survival period of more than 40 months. With its outstanding clinical results, Everfront Biotech Inc. is actively seeking partners to jointly develop this new drug and help more malignant brain cancer patients.
Introduction to Everfront Biotech Co., Ltd:
Everfront Biotech Inc. was founded in 2010, with a focus on research and development of new drugs, specifically the screening and further development of potential small molecules for clinical study. The company’s team is responsible for all aspects of product development, from front-end potential product development to pre-clinical research, chemistry manufacturing and controls (CMC), clinical trial submissions, and clinical trial planning and execution. To date, the Everfront Biotech team has successfully applied three clinical trials: Cerebraca® Wafer (for malignant brain tumors), HK-001 (for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), and EF-009 (for pancreatic cancer), which have been approved for IND applications in both the United States and Taiwan.
Everfront Biotech’s new drug development is in line with national policies, and the Cerebraca® Wafer and HK-001 products were granted the certifications of biotech and new drug in 2016. The company has received the government subsidies in three science and technology projects as of 2022 from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
