SHANGHAI, December 19, 2019 – Asieris, a China-based biotech company specializing in the development and commercialization of new drugs for the treatment of genitourinary tumors and related diseases, announced that it has been selected as a winner in this year’s Fierce Innovation Awards – Life Sciences Edition, a peer reviewed awards program from the publisher of FierceBiotech and FiercePharma. The competition highlights companies that demonstrated innovative solutions, technologies, and services that have the potential to make the greatest impact for biotech and pharma companies.
Asieris earned the top honor in the category of Medical Device Innovation for its innovative product Cevira®, a photodynamic drug-device combination product developed for the non-surgical treatment of high-grade cervical dysplasia. Asieris is the only China-based company among all the winners and finalists this year.
“Asieris is honored to be recognized by this prestigious award. Asieris is dedicated to becoming the most innovative, influential, respectable and trustworthy pharmaceutical company in our areas of focus. Innovation is always at the core of our business,” said Dr. John Zhuang, Asieris Chief Operation Officer. “Cevira® provides a novel treatment alternative for HSIL patients, avoiding the pain and side effects of surgical operation. We firmly believe it is a breakthrough therapy for these patients.”
Currently surgical resection is the most common treatment option for women with cervical dysplasia. Women of childbearing age have a high medical need for a non-surgical treatment that preserves the cervical function. To date, there have been no approved non-surgical treatments in the world for this condition; Cevira® has the potential to fill the void.
Cevira® is a drug-device combination. The device size is quite small, about the size of a tampon, and the shape is designed to comfortably fit within the vagina and remain in place without affecting the patient’s normal physical activity. This innovative design also makes it possible to use light of low fluence rates over a relatively longer time period, which has the advantage to maintain the treatment efficacy while minimizing patient discomfort and side effects.
The treatment of Cevira® is based on photodynamic therapy combining a photosensitizer with activation by light of a specific wavelength. Cevira® is convenient to use: it can be easily applied by a gynecologist in the clinic. With the self-powered integrated design, the Cevira® device switches on and off automatically. It does not require the patient to stay at a medical facility during the entire treatment period. The patient can leave the clinic immediately and go back to daily activities, and easily remove the device when the treatment is completed. Patients generally only need one or two treatments.
Fierce Innovation Award applicants were evaluated on the merits of their product’s effectiveness, technical innovation, competitive advantage, financial impact, and true innovation. In this year’s strong competition, Asieris was selected as the winner among the three finalists in the Medical Device Innovation category by a distinguished judging panel of industry leaders.
Asieris and the full list of featured winners can be found in the 2019 Fierce Innovation Report: Life Sciences Edition.
About Asieris
Asieris Pharmaceuticals, founded in March 2010, is a global innovative pharma company specializing in new drugs for the treatment of genitourinary tumors and other major diseases. We strive to improve human health and help people live a more dignified life. We aim to become a global pharma leader that integrates R&D, manufacturing and commercialization in our areas of focus, as we provide best-in-class integrated diagnosis and treatment solutions for patients in China and worldwide.
The company has been developing its proprietary R&D platform and core technologies, exploring new mechanisms of action, and efficiently screening and evaluating drug candidates. With a well-established in-house R&D system and expertise in global drug development, Asieris is committed to launching first-in-class drugs and other innovative products to address huge unmet needs in its areas of focus.
Asieris is also enhancing its pipeline for genitourinary diseases via proprietary R&D and strategic partnerships, while closely following cutting-edge technologies and therapeutics. The company strives to discover and identify unmet clinical needs, and adopts a forward-looking approach in product planning and life-cycle management. We aim to establish an outstanding portfolio that covers diagnosis and treatment in a bid to benefit more patients in China and globally.
