Microbio Launches New Chemotherapy-supporting Drug

2011/12/30  Taipei, Dec. 30, 2011 (CENS)--After 14 years of research and development, Microbio Co., Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of new drugs, recently launched the world`s first chemotherapy-supporting drug for cancer patients, the MS-20. Microbio`s chairman William Lu said that MS-20 will be first sold in Taiwan from February 2012, and then in China thereafter to tap the huge market on the both sides of the Taiwan Strait. MS-20 is a fermented soymilk extract manufactured at Microbio`s GMP plant using proprietary symbiotic fermentation technologies. Pharmacological efficacies include anti-oxidant, immune-modulation, anti-infection, and anti-cancer activities. Prior clinical studies demonstrated that MS-20 enhances cytotoxic activity of natural killer (NK) cells, and alleviate fatigue and poor appetite in cancer chemotherapy patients. According to Microbio, the Department of Health approved MS-20 for commercialization because the P-Value of the Phase III clinical trials already surpasses the required index. Industry sources said that so far the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States has approved the commercialization of only one new drug developed from Chinese herbal medicine; while Taiwan`s DOH`s approval of MS-20 has set a milestone for Chinese herbal-medicine. Lu stressed that MS-20 has passed the most stringent clinical trials on humans, featuring higher safety and more comprehensive care of cancer patients, merits of which allow consumers in Taiwan to buy the new drug over-the-counter. In China, Microbio plans to cooperate with major pharmaceutical companies to sell MS-20 and expects to tap into the whole Chinese market in three years.