More than 1.4 million patients die each year from drug-resistant bacteria worldwide, and China accounts for nearly half. At this year's National People's Congress and the National People's Congress, Zhu Tongyu, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice president of Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, brought two proposals on promoting the rational use of antimicrobial drugs and the research and development of new antimicrobial drugs, which specifically called for "bacteriophages" to be included in the list of pharmaceutical raw materials as soon as possible.
In Xinzhuang Industrial Zone, Minhang District, there is a biotechnology company founded by the top team in the field of clinical application of bacteriophages - Chuangphage (Shanghai) Biotechnology*** As an important position in phage research, the company is providing new ideas and directions for the solution of the global problem of drug-resistant bacteria.
Member Zhu Tongyu's proposal has made people re-realize the potential of bacteriophages. In fact, bacteriophages were discovered by scientists more than 100 years ago, and later with the advent of penicillin, antibiotics became the main force to eliminate bacteria, and phages gradually faded out until the problem of bacterial resistance became increasingly serious - "How to quickly promote the development of the industry and international standards?" In the United States, there are already some phage formulations approved in the European Union, and our country has not yet included the raw materials for our drugs in this area, so we also call for these new biologics to benefit our patients as soon as possible. ”
On such a new track of biologics that countries are competing to seize, the Genesis is running with all its might. Walking into the biological laboratory, the R&D personnel are conducting a matching experiment, and the chief scientist Dr. Wu Nannan pointed to a freezer full of phage matching libraries and introduced: "You see there is a 96-well plate here, and each well contains a phage. We put these phages on the culture plate of the bacteria, and if they work, it will eat the bacteria into a very translucent bee spot, and eat up the bacteria, then you can use this numbered phage product to make a ** for the patient.
In this family of viruses that can "eat" bacteria, each bacteriophage only "eats" one type of bacteria, and is currently serving the "superbug" carriers who have no antibiotics to use in the form of medical technology, because they need to be paired one by one, and they need to wait in time. But if you can turn a specific phage into a drug, it can greatly improve efficiency.
Wu Nannan provided a set of latest clinical trial data: "Overall, we have 149 patients, and the bacterial clearance rate is close to 50%, which is relatively high compared to antibiotics**, and the improvement of patients' clinical symptoms has reached about 78%. Quickly build up a phage bank, limit a very harsh condition, reduce the number of it, and it is actually a drug. ”
In recent years, phages have received more and more attention in the world, and some domestic research institutions, including the creation of phages, have strong competitiveness, but because the standards and production methods of phages are very different from traditional drugs, there is a lack of corresponding drug regulatory paths and production guidance standards, and they have not been included in the catalog of raw materials, which means that phages have become a "life-saving drug" from the source.
Zhu Tongyu's suggestion is: "Everyone knows that new antibiotics are very expensive, and the ** of bacteriophages will have a significant decline in its**. We hope that there will be some 'green channels' as soon as possible to speed up the approval of that block, reduce the burden on patients, and benefit more patients." Running towards the same goal, Wu Nannan and his R&D team also have greater expectations: "To achieve this goal together, we are equivalent to continuing to stay on the international front line and not falling behind!" ”
It is reported that the biomedical industry in Xinzhuang Industrial Zone has gradually formed an industrial matrix with nucleic acid drugs as the frontier, high-end medical devices as the main force, and chemical raw materials and preparations as the basis.
Located in Xinzhuang Industrial Zone, based on full research and good market prospects, Chao Extraordinary (Shanghai) Medical Technology Co., Ltd. participated in the investment of Chuangyu Ji in 2021, hoping to accelerate business incubation through capital assistance and play an important role in the fields of human health, cosmetics, food, animal health and environmental health. SUPEREXTRAORDINARY focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship empowerment in the high-end medical industry, including four major sectors: innovative medical care, incubation asset management, equity investment and corporate services, involving bacteriophage technology, genetic testing and other fields. The company provides whole-process support from laboratory innovation to technology industrialization, and has supported 23 companies and helped 8 companies complete the first round of financing, with an overall valuation of more than 800 million yuan. By sharing laboratories and offices, biomedical teams can be empowered to achieve the transformation of scientific and technological achievements for the benefit of society.