Baiya Phytopharm: Phytotherapeutic Technology for Medicinal Innovations
- Industry: Pharmaceutical
- Research Field: Plant-based therapeutics and vaccines
- Product / Service: COVID-19 vaccines, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, anti-cancer therapies
About Baiya Phytopharm
Baiya Phytopharm, a Thai startup, was first founded in Chulalongkorn University, faculty of pharmaceutical sciences’ small laboratory as a spinoff in 2018 by Dr. Suthira Taychakhoonavudh, assistant professor at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University and Dr. Waranyoo Phoolcharoen, Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University.
After her doctoral research on expensive medicine, Dr. Suthira realized that there are groups of people in many countries who cannot obtain proper medication due to economic limitations and more. Therefore, with the same idea, Dr. Waranyoo came into the picture and helped establish this Baiya Phytopharm platform. The organization initially aims to provide faster-produced, affordable, and high-quality medicinal treatments to people across Thailand with the help of plant-based technology, rather than conventional biotech fermenters.
From Covid Vaccine to Anti-Cancer Antibodies
Baiya Phytopharm developed their first prototype using the low-nicotine Australian tobacco leaves, the COVID-19 vaccine called “Baiya-SARS-CoV-2-Vax 1” in 2020. Even though they were not the first to produce the vaccine, they were the first cGMP facility in Asia to test in humans. Later on, when the pandemic was still intense, the company progressed further with “Baiya-SARS-CoV-2-Vax 2” to fight against the virus and its variants more efficiently. Both of the vaccines are now at the beginning of phase 2 trials. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has finally been alleviated, Baiya Phytopharm insists on continuing with the project with the intent of future public health development.
Then in 2022, the company utilized the same platform to start clinical trial phase 1 for 4 prototypes of anti-cancer immunotherapy and 1 Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine prototype. Now the COVID-19 vaccines are underway as booster doses, they are planning to proceed with monoclonal antibodies and vaccines for cancer and other tropical diseases.
Baiya Phytopharm’s Plant-Based Pharmaceutical Platform for People
With the limitations of accustomed fermentation in the pharmaceutical industry in terms of cost, talent, and supply chain, Baiya Phytopharm believe that their new approach is more beneficial. Their core value is speed, simple, and scalable; meaning they can create a prototype within 10 days and launch it to the public within 18 months at a lower cost. They can also simply switch from one product to another. Their products could be made more cheaply and quickly than traditional drugs, and they could be produced in any location with a plant. This could make life-saving treatments available to people all over the world, regardless of their income or location.
In addition, Baiya Phytopharm is now working on an open innovation platform to facilitate collaboration and knowledge-sharing between Baiya and other various organizations such as St. George’s University of London, Mount Sinai Health System, University of California, PharmAbcine, and so on. More than 100 candidates are now using their platform, under 3 established novel cancer treatment programs through Plug and Play platform.
Future of Baiya Phytopharm
Baiya Phytopharm is still in their clinical stage yet have already made significant progress in developing products for a variety of diseases, including COVID-19, cancer, and RSV. They have the potential to revolutionize the way drugs are developed and produced with a strong, proven track record, and growing demand for affordable and accessible healthcare solutions.
Dr. Waranyoo, Baiya Phytopharm’s co-founder, gave an interview to Skynews on 25 December 2021 stating that we can still expect new emerging diseases in the future. As is the case, we should prepare ourselves, thereby reducing Thailand’s dependence on other countries for vaccines.
All in all, they are currently striving for their oncology projects in 2023-2026. Toward the goal, they are now focusing on strengthening the health security of the people and reducing inequality in remedial accessibility, not only in Thailand but the Asia-Pacific region and eventually the world.