• Popular
    • Medicine
    • Radiology
    • Cardiology
    • Surgery
    • Nanomedicine
    • Military Medicine
    • Rehab
  • Categories
    • Exclusive
    • A-D
      • Anesthesiology
      • Art
      • Cardiac Surgery
      • Cardiology
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diagnostics
    • E-I
      • Emergency Medicine
      • ENT
      • Genetics
      • Geriatrics
      • GI
      • Informatics
    • M-N
      • Medicine
      • Military Medicine
      • Nanomedicine
      • Net News
      • Neurology
      • Neurosurgery
      • Nuclear Medicine
    • O-P
      • Ob/Gyn
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopedic Surgery
      • Pathology
      • Pediatrics
      • Plastic Surgery
      • Psychiatry
      • Public Health
    • R-V
      • Radiation Oncology
      • Radiology
      • Rehab
      • Reproductive Medicine
      • Space Medicine
      • Sports Medicine
      • Surgery
      • Thoracic Surgery
      • Urology
      • Vascular Surgery
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Submit PR
  • About
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    • RSS
  • Submit PR
  • Log in
Medgadget
Medgadget
  • Popular
    • Medicine
      Flexible Sensors Detect Heavy Metals in Sweat

      Flexible Sensors Detect Heavy Metals in Sweat

      Nanopore Sensor to Study Protein Aggregation in Neurodegeneration

      Nanopore Sensor to Study Protein Aggregation in Neurodegeneration

      Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

      Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

      Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

      Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

    • Radiology
      Ultrasound Tornado Rapidly Disrupts Blood Clots

      Ultrasound Tornado Rapidly Disrupts Blood Clots

      Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

      Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

      Fluorescence Imaging System Illuminates Tumor Depth

      Fluorescence Imaging System Illuminates Tumor Depth

      Soft Robot Grows Like a Plant to Travel Through Tight Spaces

      Soft Robot Grows Like a Plant to Travel Through Tight Spaces

    • Cardiology
      Belt Monitors Heart Failure Patients

      Belt Monitors Heart Failure Patients

      Camera Measures Blood Pressure with Quick Look

      Camera Measures Blood Pressure with Quick Look

      Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical

      Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

    • Surgery
      Microneedle Bandage for Hemostatic Control

      Microneedle Bandage for Hemostatic Control

      Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

      Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

      Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy

      Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

    • Nanomedicine
      Extra Hot Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy

      Extra Hot Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy

      Making Tumors Tastier for the Immune System

      Making Tumors Tastier for the Immune System

      Improved Membrane Coating for Anti-Cancer Nanoparticles

      Improved Membrane Coating for Anti-Cancer Nanoparticles

      Magnetic Bacteria Target Tumors

      Magnetic Bacteria Target Tumors

    • Military Medicine
      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Fingertip Sensor Measures Lithium Levels in Sweat

      Fingertip Sensor Measures Lithium Levels in Sweat

      Fabric Makes Electricity from Movement to Power Wearables

      Fabric Makes Electricity from Movement to Power Wearables

      Wearable Uses Microneedles to Track Metabolism

      Wearable Uses Microneedles to Track Metabolism

    • Rehab
      Smart Walking Stick for Visually Impaired People

      Smart Walking Stick for Visually Impaired People

      Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy

      Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy

      Non-Invasive Spinal Modulation for Cerebral Palsy

      Non-Invasive Spinal Modulation for Cerebral Palsy

      Implanted Magnets for Prosthetic Control

      Implanted Magnets for Prosthetic Control

  • Categories
    • Exclusive
    • A-D
      • Anesthesiology
      • Art
      • Cardiac Surgery
      • Cardiology
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diagnostics
    • E-I
      • Emergency Medicine
      • ENT
      • Genetics
      • Geriatrics
      • GI
      • Informatics
    • M-N
      • Medicine
      • Military Medicine
      • Nanomedicine
      • Net News
      • Neurology
      • Neurosurgery
      • Nuclear Medicine
    • O-P
      • Ob/Gyn
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopedic Surgery
      • Pathology
      • Pediatrics
      • Plastic Surgery
      • Psychiatry
      • Public Health
    • R-V
      • Radiation Oncology
      • Radiology
      • Rehab
      • Reproductive Medicine
      • Space Medicine
      • Sports Medicine
      • Surgery
      • Thoracic Surgery
      • Urology
      • Vascular Surgery
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Submit PR
  • About
  • Log in
  • Submit PR
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    • RSS

Liposomes for Medicine: Q&A with President of Taiwan Liposome Company

August 24th, 2016 Medgadget Editors Exclusive

Liposomes, the microsocopic lipid vesicles that scientists have been making in great variety, are rapidly entering clinical medicine and are expected to improve how many diseases are treated. The Taiwan Liposome Company specializes in developing liposomes to improve how drugs are delivered. While we here at Medgadget normally don’t cover pharmaceuticals, anything that’s engineered at the nanoscale should interest our audience and we wanted to ask one of the commercial leaders in this field a bit about the industry. George Yeh is the President of Taiwan Liposome Company (TLC) and we thank him for fielding our questions.

Medgadget: Your firm specializes in a very narrow and interesting field. Can you please give us an overview of the applications of liposomes in medicine and where you see this field heading.

George YehGeorge Yeh, Taiwan Liposome Company: Liposomes and related lipid-based technologies are particularly useful in two areas of drug delivery: making more targeted therapies or providing more sustained release of a drug over time. Improving on the properties of current medicines is a straightforward concept, but tapping into key markets where lipid-based nanomedicines will make the greatest impact requires specialized expertise.

In areas like ophthalmology or osteoarthritis, avoiding frequent injections by making medicines last longer is a major advantage of our technology. In oncology, lipid-based nanotechnologies have helped address the two most common problems in the development of new chemotherapies: high toxicity and low solubility. We are also beginning to design drugs that use lipid-based nanotechnology not only to target delivery to specific tissues, but also to target particular areas within a given cell in that specific tissue. For certain indications, better targeting of delivery has the potential to reduce side effects and may improve efficacy as well.

 

Medgadget: What are some of the more exciting advancements TLC has developed?

BioSeizer

BioSeizer nanoparticle viewed through electromicroscopy

George Yeh: Currently available drugs for osteoarthritis have a short duration of action, leaving many patients in pain for long periods of time in between treatments. Our product TLC599 uses proprietary BioSeizer™ nanotechnology to encapsulate a steroid, allowing for the steroid to be released at a constant dose over time and provide pain relief for up to three months. This effect bridges the gap between treatments and should provide safe pain relief year-round. A Phase 1/2 clinical trial of TLC599 has recently completed enrollment and results are expected in the second half of 2016.

In the treatment of macular edema, a common disease that can lead to blindness, patients are typically treated with inconvenient and unpleasant injections into the eye every one or two months. Our sustained release treatment TLC399 is designed to be effective for over six months, dramatically decreasing the frequency of injections. A Phase 1/2 clinical trial of TLC399 will start recruiting in the US before the end of 2016.

Sustained release therapies not only help patients but can also decrease the number of visits to a clinic for treatment. Because these visits are often a very expensive part of overall care, sustained release therapies have the potential to significantly reduce costs to the healthcare system.

 

Medgadget: Who are your customers and how do you work with them on creating new products?

George Yeh: TLC has a unique market niche, working closely with global biopharmaceutical companies at multiple stages of product development. As downstream distributors of our products, they are our primary customers. We work together to share knowledge and identify market opportunities that are a fit for our unique technology and scale-up expertise. In turn, these biopharmaceutical companies, such as Teva and Sandoz (a subsidiary of Novartis), bring the products we develop to global networks of physicians and health care providers.

 

Medgadget: Does operating from Taiwan help your business and what are some of the challenges of introducing your products in different world markets?

George Yeh: Taiwan is a great place for biopharma companies in early stages of development and the Taiwanese biotechnology sector is poised for growth. There have been quite a number of biotech IPOs in Taiwan, partly because the financial regulators in Taiwan provide a unique review and approval mechanism for companies not yet profitable to be publicly listed. This is true in the US as well, but is not the case for Hong Kong and Singapore. This special route is particularly helpful for biotech companies because it allows them to raise funds for R&D and clinical trials before products enter the market.

Another benefit in operating from Taiwan is that the political leadership has had experience in actually working in the healthcare industry before coming to power, so they are able to develop policies that support this sector of the economy. In addition, the unique relationship between Taiwan and mainland China contributes to its growing biotechnology sector. Agreements with Chinese regulators allow for clinical data collected at specific sites in Taiwan to be used for submission for regulatory approval. This is not the case for data from studies conducted in the US or Europe and makes Taiwan a distinctive gateway to an extremely large market.

However, because regulations for biopharmaceutical products vary quite a bit across different regions, operating from Taiwan means we need help from individuals experienced in drug development in specific markets worldwide. While we currently depend on local help, we are hoping to attract talent from across the globe to come work in Taiwan and help address this challenge.

Medgadget: What competitive advantage does your company have over your competitors?

George Yeh: In addition to our patented and adaptable nanoparticle technology platforms and our advantages in gaining access to the mainland China market we owe a lot of our success to strategic planning. We plan ahead carefully in evaluating a path to regulatory approval. For example, our general approach is usually to initiate clinical trials in Taiwan first to obtain pilot results at a lower cost and then we take trials to a larger scale in both Taiwan and one or more additional major markets such as the US or Europe.

Also, we plan for commercial scale production from early stages of product development to allow a low total cost of goods. Competitors that failed to consider production earlier on tend to have more complicated manufacturing practices, leading to higher costs and potentially lower profit margins.

divider

Link: Taiwan Liposome Company…

Medgadget Editors

Medical technologies transform the world! Join us and see the progress in real time. At Medgadget, we report the latest technology news, interview leaders in the field, and file dispatches from medical events around the world since 2004.

Sponsored
C-mo Medical Solutions extends seed investment round to €4.8 million to transform cough monitoring

C-mo Medical Solutions extends seed investment round to €4.8 million to transform cough monitoring

New Clarius Power Fan HD3 Delivers a First for Handheld Ultrasound: Continuous Scanning

New Clarius Power Fan HD3 Delivers a First for Handheld Ultrasound: Continuous Scanning

Fluidx Unveils New Embolic for Neurovascular Use

Fluidx Unveils New Embolic for Neurovascular Use

Annalise.ai and Nuance Communications (a Microsoft Company) Announce Key Partnership to Improve Patient Outcomes with Workflow-Integrated AI

Annalise.ai and Nuance Communications (a Microsoft Company) Announce Key Partnership to Improve Patient Outcomes with Workflow-Integrated AI

PT Genie Unveils New Brand Identity Reflecting Company’s Transformation and Focus on the Global Future of AI and Machine Learning in Digital Healthcare

interviews & reviews
Balance Boards to Stay Active in the Offfice: Interview with Joel Heath, CEO of FluidStance 

Balance Boards to Stay Active in the Offfice: Interview with Joel Heath, CEO of FluidStance 

Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Medgadget Visits Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Medgadget Visits Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Diabetes Management Tech for Type II patients: Interview with Jeffrey Brewer, CEO of Bigfoot Biomedical

Diabetes Management Tech for Type II patients: Interview with Jeffrey Brewer, CEO of Bigfoot Biomedical

Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical

Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical

In-Office Pediatric Ear Tube Procedures: Interview with Preceptis Medical's Greg Mielke

In-Office Pediatric Ear Tube Procedures: Interview with Preceptis Medical's Greg Mielke

Symani Microsurgical Robotic System: Interview with Mark Toland, CEO of Medical Microinstruments

Symani Microsurgical Robotic System: Interview with Mark Toland, CEO of Medical Microinstruments

  • Subscribe
  • Contact us
  • Submit
  • About
  • Back to top
Medgadget

Medical technologies transform the world! Join us and see the progress in real time. At Medgadget, we report the latest technology news, interview leaders in the field, and file dispatches from medical events around the world since 2004.

  • About
  • Editorial policies
  • Contact
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy
  • Submit press release
  • Advertise
© Medgadget, Inc. All rights reserved. | The Medical Revolution Will Be Blogged.
Please support this website by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker. Ads are what helps us bring you premium content! Thank you!
Posting....
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Email