To help Taiwan’s pharmaceutical industry develop medicines against six types of cancer, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) announced that it would launch a pilot program offering genetic testing of cancer patients, the ministry said on Thursday.
The program, developed by the ministry, the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) and Roche Diagnostics Taiwan, would offer testing to more than 1,000 patients at designated hospitals by the second half of this year, it said.
Samples of cancer tissue would be analyzed for mutations to help Roche and other pharmaceutical companies recommend targeted therapies to doctors at the hospitals, the ministry said.
The pilot program would enroll people with advanced-stage stomach, esophageal, gall bladder, pancreatic or bile duct cancer, as well as non-squamous non-small cell lung carcinoma, it said.
For those enrolled in the program, the genetic testing would be free, it said, adding that the paid testing costs about NT$100,000 per patient.
The program would enhance cancer patients’ chance of survival and contribute to the development of precision medicine in Taiwan, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said at the program’s launch event.
This would include tailoring disease prevention or treatment techniques based on a person’s genes, environment and lifestyle, rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach based on average cancer cases, he said
The program would generate data for the use in drug development and the drug approval process, Chen said.
NHRI president Liang Kung-yee (梁賡義) said that the program marks the first time that the National Biobank Consortium of Taiwan has partnered with an international pharmaceutical company.
Genetic testing under the program would start as early as in the middle of this year, Liang said.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association
RSS