Reported 8 months ago
Taipei, June 23, 2024, 4:10 PM - The Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Sciences has sparked a trend in weight loss drugs, with the awarded three scientists' discovery of GLP-1 receptor agonists being highly sought after, attracting global pharmaceutical companies like the Immunomancer founded by Taiwan's 'Antibody Father' Zhang Ziwen, Arctic Star-KY, and Shengde Group to invest. The development of insulin injection pen components by automotive components manufacturer Yulong has entered Novo Nordisk's supply chain. Recent hit drugs like Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy, the 'slim needle' transformation of diabetes drug Ozempic, and Eli Lilly's weight-loss drug Zepbound are all GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonists spurring the development of anti-diabetes and anti-obesity drugs and becoming popular. Ozempic skyrocketed to become the world's third-largest drug last year, with sales reaching $13.8 billion and a growth rate of 38%, making GLP-1 developed anti-diabetic and anti-obesity drugs extremely sought after. Riding on the GLP-1 trend, Arctic Star acquired Linyang with a $2 billion investment last year to gain a line of polypeptide products. Immumancer has cutting-edge peptide drug and fusion protein technology platforms, expecting two new drugs to enter Phase I clinical trials this year, with the most anticipated GLP-1 drug TE-8105 being a super long-acting GLP-1 drug for type 2 diabetes, obesity, and fatty liver, already seeking clinical trial approval in Australia. Low-profile medical parts developer Yulong, a supplier to Novo Nordisk, has developed metal pushrod components for insulin injection pens into the Wegovy supply chain, with expanded production slated for operation in June this year. Meishi, in collaboration with international pharmaceutical companies, is developing a generic drug with the same composition as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy for treating diabetes through subcutaneous injection once a week. Shengde has also announced reinvestment to engage in GLP-1 analogues or GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RAs) development. Oumengya has recently completed a new round of cash capital increase amounting to a total of 456 million yuan. The report in the Business Times also covers luxury homes, third home loans, increased interest rates, global crystal clear doubling of production capacity next year, and successful operations by Jump Honkai in car cultivation, with optimistic operations.
Source: YAHOO