MegaPro Biomedical Held a Pre-Emerging Stock Market Investors Briefing on Oct.14, 2021
MegaPro Biomedical Co., Ltd. (stock code: 6827; hereinafter referred to as: MegaPro Biomedical) held a pre-emerging stock market investors briefing today (14th). Founded in 2014, MegaPro Biomedical is a nano-drug development platform start-up company originated from the National Program on Nano Technology of the Industrial Technology Research Institute. Chairman Jiang Weifeng has invested in Senhwa Biosciences, EirGenix Biotechnology, etc. in the past, and is quite familiar with the biotechnology new drug industry. General manager Jassy Wang once served as the deputy director of the Institute of Materials Science and Technology of the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the convener of the nano-biomedical field of the National Program on Nano Technology.
The representative directors of Jusheng Medical Company include HanTech Venture Capital Corporation (National Development Fund), China Chemical & Pharmaceutical Co., and Yun Cheng Investment Corporation (CSRC Group), etc. Other major corporate shareholders include Industrial Technology Research Institute Innovative Industrial Technology, Pegatron Venture Capital Co. and Mega International Commercial Bank, etc.
Jassy Wang, general manager of MegaPro Biomedical, states that MegaPro Biomedical is a start-up company focusing on the development of nano-drugs and dosage forms. It has successfully used its nano-drug platform to develop new drugs and completed a number of pre-clinical developments. Platform-"Nanoparticles" and "Nanocells", in which the nanoparticle technology is transferred from the Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (IOP) developed by the Industrial Technology Research Institute. Using these two technology platforms, tTwo products have completed clinical phase IIa and clinical phase II trials respectively, among which the former MPB-1514 iron supplement for iron deficiency anemia is the only non-sugar injection type iron supplement currently on the market, which can also reach the therapeutic target at a lower dose; The latter MPB-1523 non-heavy metal is made of MRI contrast agent for the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma, which avoids the risks of Gd heavy metal deposition and nephropathy.
MegaPro Biomedical is positioned in the industrial chain as an added value in pre-development clinical trials and early human clinical trials. The mass production of drugs is entrusted to professional pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturers and preparation GMP factories. The company provides sources of experimental drugs for clinical trials, and after confirming the efficacy of the drug through clinical trials, joint development or authorization from domestic or international pharmaceutical companies are eagerly pursued. As a light equipment company, after the product completes the clinical work, we jointly develop the market with strategic partners, and the company's initial profit model is to conduct external product authorization and technology development. There is a threshold in the key technology of nanoparticle medicines developed by MegaPro. In order to dissolve the water-insoluble nano-iron oxide in water, the outer layer of the nanoparticles must first be made hydrophilic. After modifying polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules with terminal functional groups, the modified PEG is then bonded to the surface of iron oxide nanoparticles by covalent bonding, which forms a monolayer of PEG-coated iron oxide nanoparticles. In addition to having more than 20 patented technologies, the relevant process also requires the consideration of the technical thresholds such as controlling the size of each batch of nanoparticles to be consistent and not to cluster or precipitate. In addition, the nanoparticles technology of MegaPro also include the clinical application of MRI contrast agent-lymph node metastasis diagnosis, of which phase II clinical trial is currently being planned. MRI contrast agent-in vivo tracking for stem cell therapy and immune cell therapy is being developed in collaboration with Stanford University in the United States. Magnetic hyperthermia therapy is also being actively developed in collaboration with domestic universities, and IOP is expected to become an innovative drug with multiple uses.
MegaPro Biomedical's nano-cell drug platform converts hydrophobic drugs to hydrophilic drugs, mainly through the coating technology of hydrophobic drugs through polymers, which can be maintained at the nanometer scale. This claims the advantages of reducing the allergic reaction caused by excipients used in current hydrophobic drugs, increasing the dosage and slow release, etc. At present, this technology has been applied to the new dosage form of the new product MPB-1734 anticancer drug. In clinical medicine, it can successfully increase the water solubility of hydrophobic anticancer drugs by more than 1,000 times. It has been observed in animal experiments to reduce the toxicity of anticancer drugs and avoid the side effects of decreased immunity, thereby increasing the single dose. Therefore, there is an opportunity to reduce the side effects of patient discomfort while improving the efficacy of treatment. The product has also seen the advantages of additive efficacy in combination with immunotherapy, and having obtained clinical I/Ida IND approval from the U.S. FDA and the Ministry of Health and Welfare of our country, it is expected that in the fourth quarter of 2021, cases will be accepted simultaneously in Taiwan and the United States.
Wu Chunmin, senior deputy general manager of Fubon Securities, states that the main competitive advantage of MegaPro Biomedical is that it has a strong R&D team which had won the "Taipei Biotechnology Award-Innovation Technology Award Silver Award" and "The 15th National Innovation Award-Enterprise Innovation Award in 2018; its core technology, the nano-iron oxide structure patent, was licensed by the European Patent Office in 2019 and obtained certificates from 17 countries; in 2020, the company was once again approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs as a new biotechnology drug company. At the same time, focusing on new nano-iron oxide drugs, a number of products have been successfully developed and are in clinical trials one after another. Due to the aging population accompanied by related diseases or chronic diseases, this has become the subject of development by major pharmaceutical companies, and governments of various countries are also developing long-term health care policies to meet demands. In addition, cancer-related treatment drugs are increasing year by year; therefore, based on the core team of nano-iron oxide (IOP) products, MegaPro has established a company focusing on the development of niche nano-drugs. Using its nanoparticle and nanocell technology platform to develop new drugs, in addition to completing the development of products for the diagnosis of chronic kidney disease iron deficiency anemia and hepatocellular carcinoma, it may further cut into indications such as lymph node metastasis diagnosis and malignant tumors, providing new solutions to the current market.
With the increasing number of patients with iron deficiency anemia, intravenous iron is considered to have the potential for steady growth. According to the Grand View Research report compiled by Fubon Investment Consulting, the global iron injection market will reach approximately US$4.2 billion in 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5% from 2021 to 2028. In addition, the market size of the anti-cancer new drug industry (precision medicine) is expected to grow from US$78.9 billion in 2018 to US$216.8 billion in 2028, with a CAGR of 10.64% from 2018 to 2028. Among the markets of these drugs, the cancer drug market is the largest, reaching US$123.8 billion, and it is estimated to reach US$236.6 billion in 2024, with a CAGR of 11.4% from 2018 to 2024. At present, MegaPro’s IOP has completed the clinical phase IIa trial in iron supplements, and the MRI contrast agent-hepatocellular carcinoma has also completed the clinical phase II trial. Currently, MRI contrast agent-lymph node metastasis diagnosis is at the planning stage of clinical phase II trials. MRI contrast agent-in vivo tracking for stem cell therapy and immune cell therapy is being developed in cooperation with Stanford University in the United States. Magnetic hyperthermia therapy is also being actively developed in collaboration with domestic universities. Looking into the future, the global biotechnology industry is sure to continue to grow, and pharmaceutical companies in various countries will invest in development, as the demand for health care, cancer diagnosis and treatment shall increase. MegaPro Biomedical, using its proprietary nanoparticle and nanocell technology platform to develop new drugs, will be a company with the greatest development potential in the future of biotechnology and new drug development industry.