TCI Co., Ltd.

TAIPEI, June 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2023 World Food Innovation Awards recently announced the list of global winners. With its outstanding performance in innovation, TCI from Taiwan won three major awards. Two natural health ingredients were recognized as Finalists, which included Banana Flower Stamens Extract, and Soba! ™ Buckwheat Husk Extract. In addition, TCI received an honorable commendation award for its CSR/sustainability initiative. The award-winning Banana Flower Stamens Extract, which contains ingredients for hair growth, was developed through TCI's exclusive "Bio-Resource Data Mining" technology to identify the essential compounds which not only promote hair follicle cell proliferation up to 2.5 times but also inhibits DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) production and effectively reduces hair follicle damage caused by DHT. Furthermore, the ingredient complies with the upcycling approach, using banana flower as the raw material, which decreases the agricultural waste and mitigates the food loss. TCI discovered buckwheat husk with 31 times higher rutin content than that of general buckwheat, which can enhance the mitochondrial activity of vascular endothelial cells, enabling the efficient operation of physiological functions in the body and maintaining youthful vitality. Simultaneously, it can enhance the anti-aging gene cluster of human fibroblasts and peripheral blood mononuclear cells, reduce the production of AGEs (Advanced Glycation End-product) and effectively resist glycation, demonstrating anti-aging functions in all aspects. The World Food Innovation Awards, jointly organized by FoodBev Media and IFE, is known as the "Global Food Industry Annual Innovation Trendsetter" and the "Oscars of the Global Food Industry," with over 2,500 companies competing for the awards every year. The finalists of the 2023 World Food Innovation Awards are global leaders in the field of food innovation, such as DSM, Dole Food Company, and food retail leader ALDI. TCI focuses on the CDMO business model to design formulas and manufacture high-efficacy supplements for our international branded customers. Through cutting-edge scientific validation and human clinical trials, TCI ensures that consumers can benefit from the products designed and manufactured by its own factories in the US and Asia. Furthermore, TCI owns zero carbon factory in its LEED recognized green buildings to minimize the environmental footprint of its production, striving for manufacturing green products for its customers. Related Link: SOURCE TCI

A Shanghai-based biotech is handing off rights to one of its candidates to another Shanghai company. Qiming-backed Abbisko — headed by Eli Lilly and Novartis veteran Yao-Chang Xu — said Wednesday that it would be out-licensing its candidate ABK3376 to Allist Pharmaceuticals. The small molecule is a preclinical, brain-penetrant EGFR inhibitor which can inhibit different mutations such as L858R activating mutation or the exon 19 deletion mutation, Abbisko said. Abbisko wrote in a statement that it would be eligible for an upfront payment from Allist, the exact amount of which was undisclosed, along with $187.9 million in milestones and certain royalties. An Endpoints News query to Abbisko was not immediately returned. Preclinical studies for the molecule, according to the Shanghai biotech, showed “positive results” when used as a single drug or if used in combination with furmonertinib, Allist’s third-generation EGFR inhibitor. While furmonertinib is already approved in China, the drug was out-licensed to ArriVent Biopharma, which launched in 2021. The biotech is currently testing the drug in a Phase Ib trial in patients with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR or HER2 mutations. The deal calls for Allist to develop, manufacture and sell ABK3376 in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, though Allist has a “time-limited option” to expand its rights worldwide. The amount of time that Allist has to make that option is undisclosed. Founded in 2016, Abbisko attracted VC investment from Qiming Venture Partners in 2019, when the prominent firm led the biotech’s Series B for $42 million. The Shanghai biotech went public in Hong Kong back in 2021, raising $226 million after initially pricing on the Hong Kong Index for HK$12.46 a share. Several months later, Abbisko reached a deal with Eli Lilly, partnering up on co-developing candidates for cardiometabolic diseases in early 2022. The deal gave Abbisko the opportunity to secure up to $258 million in milestones.

Shanghai biotech Oricell has raised an additional $45 million to bankroll its preclinical and early-stage cancer cell therapies, it announced Tuesday morning. Following a showing at ASCO last year with a GPRC5D-directed CAR-T therapy for multiple myeloma, Oricell raised a $120 million Series B in July. The latest raise is an extension of that round, and was led by RTW Investments and Qatar Investment Authority, followed by existing investors Qiming Venture Partners and C&D Emerging Industry Equity Investment. The biotech said that newly raised money would primarily be put towards clinical development in the US. Oricell is working on a number of CAR-T therapies and solid tumor antibody candidates. In the Phase I trial presented at ASCO, a group of patients with treatment-resistant multiple myeloma had a 100% overall response rate and 60% stringent complete response to Oricell’s GPRC5D-directed CAR-T. In particular, Oricell highlighted a group of five patients who had already received BCMA CAR-T therapy. Two achieved stringent complete response, two had “very good partial response,” and one had a partial response, the company said. And with a median follow-up ranging from 35 to 281 days, all were progression-free at the cutoff date at ASCO. Oricell said it hopes to expand the trial for its GPRC5D-directed CAR-T therapy to the US, where it’s currently in the IND-enabling phase. In addition, Oricell has a GPC3-directed CAR-T cell therapy called Ori-C101, which it’s studying in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.