Q2全球醫學會議 帶動生技業熱度!!

題材簇擁生技業Q2綻放光芒2012-04-0501:03工商時報　生技產業今年表現亮眼，第1季那斯達克生技指數大漲18％，由於生技業第2季題材多，法人認為，生技基金後市仍大有可為。　保德信全球醫療生化基金經理人江宜虔指出，第2季通常是全球醫學會議舉辦高峰期，尤其美國腫瘤學會年會常有特別議題，一旦腫瘤學會發表正面的臨床實驗結果，即有機會激勵相關個股股價走高。　今年美國腫瘤年會預定於6月1日至5日舉行，是否重現過去漲勢，值得密切觀察。江宜虔表示，生物科技產業目前本益比約16倍，EPS成長率高達20~25％，預期未來走勢仍相當有潛力。　德盛全球生技大壩基金經理人傅子平指出，根據經驗，生技類股在3月底至4月初表現相對較差，但隨後普遍能有較佳的表現，主因即在此期間有許多重要會議。　例如4月中旬的歐洲肝病研討會（EASL）、5月中下旬的美國泌尿科學會年會（AUA），及6月有美國腫瘤學會。這3個會議由於有相關數據宣布，會議成果將對今年行情具有影響。　富蘭克林坦伯頓生技領航基金經理人依凡.麥可羅認為，今年表現不錯的生技類股未來仍有上漲潛力，利多包括今年是生技產業眾多關鍵產品審核及開發開花結果的一年，以及生技產業併購活動頻繁。　高盛之前發布報告，在低利環境下，今年企業併購活動可望提升，預估未來1年能將進行策略併購的公司中，近3成屬於醫療類產業，將有助相關股價再推升。　傅子平表示，對生技醫療類股影響較大的重大議題包括歐巴馬的健保醫療改革，預料持續推動的機率較高，全球醫療生化產業具中長線投資價值。

楊志良憂健保財務撐不到105年

記者詹建富、黃驛淵台北4日電April04,2012二代健保延至明年上路，任內完成二代健保修法的衛生署前署長楊志良得知，不只沒特別高興，反而憂心採4.91%費率，「大家祈禱國泰民安，沒有金融海嘯來襲」，否則健保財務無法撐到2016年。去年1月4日立法院三讀通過二代健保法，楊志良當天隨即請辭。由於補充保險費引發極大爭議，日前他公開批評，此新制不只不公平，行政程序也比家戶總所得制更複雜，行政成本非常高，根本不可行。他還建議行政院應負起責任，透過黨政協商重新修法，回歸家戶總所得制。行政院顯然未採納楊的忠告，昨天突然宣布明年1月上路，楊志良無奈地說：「我已經離開了，我管不到這個事情。」他說，當時執政黨立院黨團提出修正動議，以補充保費取代家戶總所得制，「那是他們通過的法案，不是我的法案。」至於費率4.91%，楊志良表示，當時衛生署健保小組估算，在補充保費挹注下，費率可由現行5.17%降到4.91%；問題是從修法到上路已蹉跎兩年，此費率能否撐到2016年，「我實在不樂觀」。「大家要祈禱國泰民安。」楊志良憂心，若金融海嘯再來襲，全民薪資及收入下滑，「到時候健保財務可能會爆掉」。二代健保明年1月上路，民間團體有意見，衛生署前署長楊志良日前更帶頭痛批補充保費的「收費制度是錯誤的」，認為應回歸課徵「家戶總所得」。衛生署長邱文達、健保局長戴桂英昨天回應，「家戶總所得」理想性高，但爭議卻很大。楊志良也批評，二代健保大方向對，但6類14目不但增加行政成本，更對照顧弱勢不利，例如中低收入戶的人只要去便利商店打工，卻要繳補充保費。戴桂英說，中低收入戶打工兼職，未來的確要繳補充保費，但政府有社福措施，低收入戶健保費全額補助，中低收入戶則半數補助。她也坦言，補充保費收取的執行面對健保局的確是新考驗，但會邀熟悉業務的專家做好充分準備。邱文達說，家戶總所得是個理想，但有很多問題，包括保費延後收取、單身歧視等都引起爭議，相較下，現在的作法較穩定。戴桂英表示，當初衛生署將二代健保以「家戶總所得」為核心的條文送立院審查，黨團協商沒共識，外界也質疑是否讓單身族負擔加重、甚至引發虛擬所得的爭議，「理想性相當高」的家戶總所得版本最後並未獲得社會共識。戴桂英也強調，二代健保也有許多優點，例如針對弱勢或經濟非常困難的人，必須加以協助、不能鎖卡，另也加重政府責任，總體保險經費的36%都由政府負擔，民眾也能參與重要會議及政策討論或推派代表。

二代健保 費率將下降??

邱文達掛保證：八成保費一定會降‧聯合新聞網2012/04/04行政院昨天宣布，原訂7月上路的二代健保延至明年1月實施。為了降低國人疑慮，衛生署長邱文達今天一早親上火線接受廣播節目訪問。他保證，二代健保上路後，八成國人保費一定會下降，僅有兩成會多繳一些保費。對於前任衛生署長楊志良公開批評二代健保制度不良，應改以「家戶總所得制」，才符合公平正義原則。邱文達表示，過去規畫的「家戶總所得制」是個理想，衛生署目前正籌畫三代健保，將朝這方向努力。邱文達表示，10年前李明亮擔任衛生署長就開始研議「家戶總所得制」，但花了這麼多年規畫，99年4月修法時，社會仍未達共識，外界質疑新制恐將處罰單身，且虛擬所得也引起許多爭議。「健保絕對不能倒！」邱文達強調，二代健保已經通過立法院審議，必須依規定實施，但衛生署已經著手研擬三代健保，將設法解決許多爭議，朝著家戶總所得制來努力。邱文達指出，最近油電及物價飆漲，行政院長陳?考慮民間反應以及民眾感受，所以才決定將二代健保實施時間往後延半年。他保證，二代健保上路後，健保費率將下降，費率將由現行5.17%，降到4.91%，八成民眾保費將可少繳。另外，二代健保延後半年，這段時間，衛生署將與民眾及企業做更多的溝通，例如透過種子教官，全面展開溝通與宣導，讓民眾、企業界及扣費義務人，都能瞭解補充保險費相關實施細則。針對外界質疑補充保險費真的課徵得到嗎？保費夠用嗎？邱文達再三保證，經過精算，二代健保明年上路之後，可讓健保財務撐到105年，健保得以正常運作下去。

Novel nanoparticle technique for single protein observation

 Posted: Apr 4th, 2012   (Nanowerk News) Researchers must be able to recognise how proteins work so that they can understand the related biological processes that occur at the molecular level. They get this information by labelling proteins with fluorescent substances. The problem with this method, however, is that it alters the proteins and influences the biological processes under investigation. A new study from Germany has pioneered a novel method able to observe individual proteins. Presented in the journal Nano Letters ("Single Unlabeled Protein Detection on Individual Plasmonic Nanoparticles"), the research was funded in part by the SINGLESENS ('Single metal nanoparticles as molecular sensors') project, led by Professor Carsten Sonnichsen, who in 2010 received a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant worth EUR 1.5 million under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).  Single gold nanoparticles are utilized to detect single unlabeled proteins with extremely high temporal resolution. Researchers at the Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) in Mainz, Germany are responsible for the new technique. 'Our method allows live tracking of individual proteins without having to label them first,' explains Professor Carsten Sonnichsen of the Institute of Physical Chemistry at JGU, the senior author of the study,. 'We are now gaining entirely new insights into molecular processes and can see, for example, how things are constantly in motion even on the very smallest scale.' This innovative method is based on the use of gold nanoparticles, which act as glistening nano-antennas that change their frequency (or colour) when single, unlabelled proteins are detected. 'This is an enormous leap forward technologically,' says Professor Sonnichsen. 'We have managed to achieve a very high time resolution for the observation of individual molecules.'  Researchers can now precisely observe the dynamics of a protein molecule down to the millisecond. This latest development will allow scientists to push forward with research related to proteins, particularly by tracking the fluctuation of protein population densities and by monitoring protein absorption processes in real time. 'We can see how molecules move, how they dock at particular locations, and how they fold - this has given us a window into the molecular world,' says Dr Irene Ament, a member of Sonnichsen's group and the lead author of the study. This new technique could benefit the fields of chemistry, biology and medicine. Experts say this development is a key element in research into non-equilibrium phenomena at the molecular level.

Vaccine maker Adimmune to list on TWSE

  Staff writer, with CNA Thu, Apr 05, 2012   Adimmune Corp (國光生技), a Taiwanese vaccine developer, said on Tuesday that it is scheduled to list on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) on May 3.  According to a prospectus posted on the exchange's Web site, the company, which was established in 1965 and is capitalized at NT$1.64 billion (US$55.59 million), is planning to issue 19.53 million shares to raise about NT$976.50 million in working capital.  While Adimmune has set a tentative issue price of NT$50 for the shares, market analysts said the actual price is expected to range between NT$40 and NT$43.  Adimmune, which is the only vaccine manufacturer in Asia to have obtained GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certification from the EU, specializes in the development of vaccines for influenza, Japanese encephalitis and tetanus.  Adimmune has teamed up with Dutch-based biotech company Crucell, the world's sixth-largest flu vaccine manufacturer, for technological cooperation, while it has also partnered with Japan's largest flu vaccine developer, the Kitasato Institute. Crucell is one of the company's majority shareholders, with an 11.39 percent stake, according to the prospectus. Adimmune chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢) told investors that the company completed animal testing for an H5N1 avian flu vaccine at the end of last year and is expected to begin human testing this year.  In addition, Chan said the company's enterovirus 71 vaccine, which is undergoing clinical trials, is scheduled to hit the market in 2017, while a dengue fever vaccine is expected to be launched in 2019. Last year, the company sold about 1.5 million flu vaccine doses in Taiwan, taking a 55 percent share of the domestic flu vaccine market. The company expects its market share to fall to about 50 percent this year. In addition, it anticipates it will be granted permits to sell flu vaccine in China at the end of this year at the earliest.  Adimmune posted NT$290 million in sales last year, but incurred a NT$2.87 net loss per share because of an unsatisfactory capacity utilization rate. However, on the back of rising production, its capacity utilization rate is expected to range between 70 percent and 80 percent in the second half of this year and it is likely to exceed 90 percent next year, which will improve its bottom line, the company said.