Just for kicks and more one of the mission goals for DH attending the pan-Asia conference in "China" (short handing for readership sake) is to look at what the researchers and allergists in this Asia-Europe-USA get together are focusing on wrt FA. Specifically, he's supposed to ask some of the local researchers and allergists in Taiwan, where he has home territory advantage, what they think about FAHF-2, if they are planning to implement it, and why/why not. I'd like to hear some of their perspective and critique.
Tse Wen Chang will be in attendance. For anyone going,
who? He was one of the founders of Tanox, who developed the anti-IgE competitor to Xolair. I think he's continued with anti-IgE there.
The main focus of our group is to develop humanized antibody-based and immunogen-based therapeutics, which target key molecules involved in IgE-mediated allergic pathway. We are also developing new technology platforms for improved antibody engineering. One such program is to develop humanized antibody against CεmX domain in human membrane-bound IgE, for the purpose of controlling IgE-expressing B lymphocytes. CεmX, discovered by our group, is a 52 a.a. domain with a unique sequence. Anti-CεmX, if successfully developed, may be used in combination with an anti-IgE antibody, such as omalizumab (trade name Xolair), which is also derived from Dr. Chang's invention and which is approved for allergic asthma.
Dr. Chang is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica. He cofounded Tanox in Houston, Texas in 1986, shortly after he was recruited by Baylor College of Medicine. In 1987, he invented the anti-IgE therapy, which led to the development of omalizumab (Xolair). Xolair is used worldwide for severe allergic asthma and shown to be effective for severe chronic urticaria. In 1990, Dr. Chang discovered a discrete domain of 52 amino acid residues, referred to as CemX, located between CH4 and the C-terminal membrane anchor peptide of human mIgE. Favorable results have been obtained from Phase II trials of an anti-CemX antibody.