China PharmaHub, engaged in licensing, developing and the commercialization of pharma products, announced it has signed an agreement with a glass technology company, to manufacture high precision radioactive glass spheres that emit alpha, beta or gamma radiation, for the treatment of malignant tumors of the liver. The name of the glass company has not been revealed. The agreement gives PharmaHub exclusive right to market in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, and Bangladesh this innovative liver cancer treatment which is similar to a FDA-approved liver cancer therapy.
PharmaHub is a global pharmaceutical hub that specializes in the identification, licensing, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical and healthcare products and technologies that its management believes could make a significant difference to patients and society worldwide. PharmaHub's corporate goal is to create maximum value from existing intellectual properties and technologies of its global partners by utilizing its broad-base of knowledge, understanding and resource allocation ability in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.
The FDA-approved version of this "magic bullet" cancer therapy has already improved the quality of life and offered longer life expectancy with minimum side effects for many patients suffering from inoperable liver cancer in the United States. The procedure is now used routinely in more than 43 clinical centers in 27 states, and was recently approved for coverage by two of the largest health insurers in the United States. The therapy combats tumors in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), commonly known as primary liver cancer, who cannot be treated with surgery, and are awaiting an organ transplant.
As the exclusive distributor in the Greater China Region, Singapore, Malaysia and Bangladesh of this new form of liver cancer treatment, PharmaHub believes that the therapy offers a solution to the problem of malignant liver cancer in Southeast Asia where approximately three-quarters of the cases of liver cancer worldwide are found. China, alone, has the highest number of liver cancer patients worldwide, approximately one-half of the world HCC population, with more than 350,000 new cases diagnosed each year, a number that is expected by Management to continue to rise in the coming years. As projected by IMS Health, China will become the world's third-largest pharmaceutical market by 2011, growing by more than 20 percent annually. Oncology is among the top five therapy classes in China, which recorded a staggering 27 percent compound annual growth rate ("CAGR") from 2005-2009 and is poised to achieve similar gains through 2015.
Mr Richard Lui, CEO of PharmaHub stated, "We are thrilled with this opportunity to take a leadership role in introducing this type of radioembolization treatment for inoperable liver cancer in China and Southeast Asia. This therapy is a pioneering alternative to surgery, chemotherapy and other radiation therapies in current usage. Overall, the treatment can cause fewer and milder side effects than other current treatments and offers the convenience of outpatient therapy at a significantly lower price than the more conventional treatments."