By Jutta Schulze

Taiwan Liposome Company (TLC) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on research and development in the area of innovative drug delivery technology. Their current stronghold is a lipid-based formulation that allows to maximize the benefits of medications, especially for liver cancer. In addition, the company is expanding into the areas of pain management and ophthalmology. The proprietary drug delivery technologies render these medications in a much more efficient way than traditional methods, thanks to the use of polymeric micelles and nanoparticles. This is especially important in the area of oncology and chemotherapy in cancer treatments.

Among their innovative technologies and products, TLC lists several groundbreaking drugs in a range of areas, oncology being one of them, along with their current research and market status. The company offers unique treatment options for breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma, lymphoma, as well as different types of infections, diseases and conditions related to diabetes, HIV, and even arthritis. The technologies evolve around a certain type of modification of the drug or carrier liquids, allowing the medication to be delivered on the spot, in the intended dosage, and with less side effects.

While liver cancer has predominantly been seen as a “Western” disease, CEO George Yeh says that TLC’s unique positioning in Taiwan offers the company a great advantage in the research and development of a drug that takes into account the unique characteristics of the disease in Asian patients. As a result, TLC might get faster access to the Chinese market based on the mutual recognition between Taiwan and its neighbor. Compared to a foreign company, Yeh argues, TLC can reduce the research, trial, and approval time by approximately half before entering into the Chinese market.

Yeh explains that about two years ago, TLC raised over $100 million in Taiwan as funding for their current research, while most of their products and methods are now patented and in the later stages of clinical trials. Among its most recent accomplishments is the recognition by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of TLC´s oncology drug candidate denominated TLC178, which is a drug designed for a rare pediatric disease in the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). RMS is an aggressive type of cancer that develops from the body’s own muscle cells and predominantly afflicts children, with about half of the patients diagnosed with RMS being younger than 10 years of age. With the designation by the FDA, the company moves one step closer to receiving a Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher, which can potentially shorten the review process by several months.

Disclosures: The author, Jutta Schulze, holds no interest in any of the securities or entities mentioned above.

TLC is a client of SCN Corporate Connect.