Fighting COVID-19! Taiwan's Self-developed Two New Drugs Inhibit Virus with Near-Perfect Performance

As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues, despite ongoing vaccination efforts in various countries, many risks and concerns remain. In the fight against COVID-19, Taiwan’s biotech company, AMS BioteQ, announced today (14th) that two newly developed drugs, YUAN-01 and YUAN-03, have undergone in vitro antiviral testing against human coronavirus hCoV-OC43, commissioned to Institute of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Research at National Health Research Institutes. The results confirm that the effective inhibition of virus expression by these two new drugs can reach nearly 100%.

Dr. Yi-Ju Tsai, Chairman of AMS BioteQ, stated that AMS BioteQ is a team composed entirely of Taiwanese scholars and experts. They are extremely excited about the nearly 100% inhibition of the virus in the human coronavirus test. They hope that a new drug against the COVID-19 virus can be developed by a local biotech team in Taiwan, benefiting patients in Taiwan and globally.

Dr. Yi-Ju Tsai pointed out that although countries are gradually vaccinating against COVID-19, there are still many risks and concerns. Moreover, the new coronavirus variants are diverse and rapidly evolving, showing a trend towards flu-like symptoms. Therefore, the development of new drugs for COVID-19 is imperative.

Dr. Yi-Ju Tsai stated that AMS BioteQ, through technology transfer from National Chung Hsing University titled “Composition and method for a formulation of Streptomyces Padanus PMS-702 for plant protection” and subsequent improvements, has developed YUAN-01 and YUAN-03, which can inhibit human coronaviruses. Therefore, they commissioned the Institute of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Research at National Health Research Institutes to conduct in vitro antiviral tests against human influenza coronaviruses (hCoV-OC43).

The test includes two modes of action. First, host cells receive drug treatment both before and after virus infection, and second, host cells receive drug treatment only after virus infection. The results show that both YUAN-01 and YUAN-03 can effectively inhibit virus expression by nearly 100% in both modes of action, which is highly exciting. Since hCoV-OC43 and SARS-CoV-2 (novel coronavirus) belong to the same family of human coronaviruses, AMS BioteQ has also arranged antiviral tests for the novel coronavirus to confirm whether YUAN-01 and YUAN-03 are similarly effective.