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.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS