Taipei, April 12, 2019
According to a recent market survey report by MarketsandMarkets™ Inc., by 2023, the market scale of anti-adhesion products will grow from US$577 million in 2018 to US$806 million in 2023, at a compound annual growth rate of 7.2%. And the key factors that drive the rapid growth of this industry are as follows:
- The rate of population ageing is increasing rapidly, hence the number of chronic diseases derived therefrom is also increasing;
- Increased number of surgical operations and sports related injuries;
- Continually increased awareness of post-operative adhesion formation and related complications
At present, by product types, the anti-adhesion products in the end market can be categorized into solution, sheet, gel, and powder products. And currently most products in the market fall into the categories of sheet and gel.
BMG Inc.( http://www.bmg-inc.com/en/index.html) in Kyoto area, Japan, was established in 1983 as a biotechnology research and development company. The founder Dr. Suong-Hyu Hyon, a specially appointed professor of the Faculty of Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, is dedicated to the application of biodegradable material Poly-glycolide (Poly-glycolic acid), PGA) in the production of surgical sutures. In 1986, shortly after the company was established, BMG received large orders from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
After many years of research and development, BMG has successively developed biodegradable bone fixation devices made of Poly-L-lactide (PLLA), Guided Tissue Regeneration (GTR) Membrane which can be applied to dentistry, and biodegradable monofilament sutures made of Poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone)(LCL). They are already available for domestic sale in Japan.
In 2002, BMG’s patented technology of artificial joint production method was licensed to Biomet Inc. of USA, which later merged with Zimmer Inc. to form Zimmer Biomet (https://www.zimmerbiomet.com/). In 2017, Zimmer Biomet had 18,200 employees. In addition, LYDEX® (http://www.bmg-inc.com/en/prod_and_res/research/lydex.html), currently under development by BMG Inc. of Japan, is a safe biomedical polymer powder material which can be used to prevent tissue adhesion. Human clinical trials for medical devices with LYDEX® is currently being conducted in Japan/Korea, and the application for product sales license will soon be submitted in Japanese/Korea after the trials are completed in the near future.
The R & D team of Gongwin Biopharm (6617) is currently developing a competitive product derived from raw materials of its core product PTS, and it may be feasible to integrate the PTS based product into a composite product with LYDEX®, which is currently being developed by BMG Inc. in Japan. Based on this conception, Gongwin Biopharm has specially invited Mr. Yuki Gen, the executive director of BMG Inc., to come to Taiwan by April 12 to engage in preliminary discussions on the future cooperation opportunities between the two parties. After meetings and discussions, two possible cooperation opportunities were proposed:
- Work together to develop new generation products combining BMG Inc.'s LYDEX® powder material with PTS raw materials to develop preventive products that may be applied to prevent cancer cell metastasis and recurrence after minimally invasive surgeries in chests and abdominal cavities for various cancers;
- Through the long-term medical connections and operating experience accumulated by Gongwin Biopharm’s presence in China, assist BMG Inc. to introduce existing mature surgical sutures, bone fixation devices, tissue regeneration membranes, biodegradable monofilament sutures and other products and the upcoming LYDEX® into China and Taiwan markets;
After the meeting on April 12, Mr. Yuki Gen of BMG Inc. readily agreed to cooperate with Gongwin and planned to further propose a specific cooperative development plan based on the results of this discussion within a short time. Gongwin Biopharm will also conduct research on the regulatory requirements to bring Class III medical devices, which have been approved for sale in the market of Japan, to the markets in China and Taiwan
Press contact:
Press contact: Pierre Hsiao, Deputy General Manager of Gongwin Biopharm
(02)2503-5282
pierre@gongwinbiopharm.com
About Gongwin:
Gongwin Biopharm Holdings Co., Ltd. (stock code: 6617), founded in 2014, is a Taiwan-based biotechnology pharmaceutical company which focuses on the development of small molecule anti-cancer chemical ablation new drugs. Gongwin-KY steps away from traditional cancer treatment thinking, develops new anti-cancer drugs with PTS as the main active ingredient by combining with minimally invasive surgery, providing cancer patients options to directly eliminate lesion tumors. The new drug development of PTS started in the 1980s. After many years’ research, in 2011, the inventors John Wu and Dr. Shi Jia-Shun completed Phase III clinical trial of PTS-302 new drug applied on non-small cell lung cancer in China. This also accelerated the application for a drug certificate from China CFDA.
In view of the maturity and energy of Taiwan's R&D environment as well as considerations of Gongwin’s global layout, PTS International Inc. established Gongwin Biopharm and Gongwin Biopharm Holdings in Taiwan in 2014, respectively, and completed the integration and restructuring in December 2015. Based in Gongwin Biopharm, a subsidiary of Gongwin Biopharma Holdings, as its operational headquarters, it promotes the Group's global new drug research and development, clinical research, manufacturing technology, international licensing and marketing planning and promotion, truly based in Taiwan and looking out to the whole world.
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