PhytoHealth Corporation (TWSE 4108) won the 2008 National Biotechnology and Medical Care Quality Award, hosted by the Institute for Biotechnology and Medicine Industry (IBMI), in the category of Pharmaceuticals for its botanical new drug candidate, PG2.

 

Other award winners in the same category were all multinational pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Novartis, and Wyeth. Being the only Taiwan-based new drug development biotech company awarded, PhytoHealth demonstrated its competitive advantages in R&D competence to rival the multinational pharmaceutical companies.

 

The botanical new drug candidate PG2 is extracted from Astragalus membranaceus and made into the form of IV injectable. PhytoHealth Corporation applies the proprietary manufacturing process to produce PG2 with pharmaceutical-grade quality from TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). The new drug, once NDA (New Drug Application approved, will serve to treat the chronic fatigue symptoms and improve the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) for advanced cancer patients.