The team of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, led by Prof. Yi-Ren Su was granted NT$ 20 Million as funding for further research and development with its project --"Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease with A New Formulation of Turmeric Derivatives." On November 25, the team was invited to the launching ceremony of the project, held by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Vice President Jian-Ren Chen also came to the ceremony. He expected that the team, through the project, could have fruitful results. Among the 27 projects accepted by the ministry, there were only 8 related to biotech and medical research. Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology was the only private university of science and technology among them. This was the result of the fact that STUST has taken root in long-term education programs and has never stopped to encourage students to work for innovation and entrepreneurship.

【Vice-President Jian-Ren Chen (fifth from left), Minister Liang-Ji Chen of the Ministry of Science and Technology (fifth from right), and all the guests and VIPs at the ceremony】

As Prof. Yi-Ren Su has been granted the funding, it has been approved that the establishment of a start-up company should come in June 2018. As there is currently no effective treatment drugs Alzheimer's disease, Prof. Su’s experimental results of administering the derivative preliminary to rats have proved to be very exciting. If the future sees the success of his experiment on human bodies, what follows would be global business opportunities each year with tens of billions of dollars as its profit. In that case, the company will have the opportunity to become a biotech unicorn.

【Vice President Jian-Ren Chen (left) and Minister Liang-Ji Chen of the Ministry of Science and Technology (right) jointly hosted the launching ceremony】

Prof. Su said that the goal of his research project is to develop new drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease with curcumin derivatives. Dementia is the most serious aging disease in the 21st century. About 10% of people over the age of 75 will be dementia in 2020and 65% of them will develop Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is currently curbed only by symptomatic treatment; there is an urgent need to develop remedial drugs. With global business opportunities worth tens of billions of dollars each year, it is now the most important drug research and development field. Curcumin has multiple biological functions—anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, and amyloid inhibition. It is the most important potential drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. However, over the past five to 10 years, advances in science— including advances in new synthetic derivatives, new formulations, and nanotechnology—have overcome the curiosity that curcumin is not easily absorbed by the gut and is easily metabolized. The lack of patent protection and other shortcomings should be overcome, while curcumin derivatives and new preparations can be developed into drugs. As a result, curcumin has been reused in clinical case studies on anti-inflammatory, arthritis, and cancer, but no formal drug development case exists. Due to the gradual clarification of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, the development of early diagnostic reagents and imaging technologies can be diagnosed as early as five to ten years prior to the onset of Alzheimer's disease. This has rekindled the hope of the medical and pharmaceutical community to develop treatments for Alzheimer's disease and drugs for early prevention and treatment.

【The team of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, led by Prof. Yi-Ren Su was granted funding for further research and development with its project --"Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease with A New Formulation of Turmeric Derivatives." Photograph with President Chien Tai of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology (second from left) and the team】

In 2010, Prof Su and his team began the development of biomarker platform for the disease and a search for AD drugs. Since 2014, 15 kinds of small molecule compounds of curcumin derivatives have been screened by this platform. Candidate drugs have been selected and proved to be effective after animal experiments on mice. With the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology, new formulations are being developed and Spin-Off Biotech Company has been scheduled to be established in June 2018, which will be one of the world's leading company working on curcumin and derivatives.

【In the launching ceremony: Vice President Jian-Ren Chen (fifth from left), Minister Liang-Ji Chen of the Ministry of Science and Technology (fifth from right), Prof. Yi-Ren Su (middle back) and 27 team members from Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology】

The pilot program of the new type of production-and-industry chain emphasizes the establishment of a world-class spin-off, the birth of a new Unicorn in Taiwan, or the addition of a prominent domestic enterprise to upgrade its spin-in technology. Therefore, for the project review, the team will invite industrial and VC community representatives with rich market experience to participate in the review. The purpose is to select technologies that have the opportunity to establish a first-rate start-up within four years, and this technology must be able to immediately Echo the market demand. The auditing standards are very strict. Up till now, only 27 cases have been accepted. Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology have plans to pass the program, and Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology is the only private university of science and technology to have been accepted.