Taipei, April 23 (CNA) Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) won four medals — one gold and three silver — at the recently held 2024 Edison Awards, which honor the world’s most innovative new products, services and business leaders.
According to ITRI, the gold medal was won for a medical innovation entered in the Health, Medical & Biotech category.
The Novel Dual-Targeted Therapy for Glaucoma (ITRI-E-(S)4046), was honored under the Cardiovascular & Ophthalmic Innovations group.
The public-funded R&D institution described the therapy as a revolutionary drug that is administered in the form of a once-a-day eye drop to treat Glaucoma, which causes blindness.
The therapy lowers intraocular pressure by simultaneously targeting two enzymes, which makes it about three times more effective than current medications, ITRI said.
ITRI also revealed that one of its three silver medals was won in the health category as well, specifically the Genomic & Stem Cell Innovations group.
Known as the Key Functional Cell Identity (KFCI), the innovation is a new tech that helps to identify potent therapeutic cells to create a stem-cell bank.
The bank can then be used to develop cell therapy products capable of treating more than 40 medical conditions, such as myocardial infarction and diabetes ITRI said.
The institute’s two other silver medals were won in the Engineering & Robotics and the Resilient & Sustainable Solutions categories.
The silver medal for engineering was won with the High Resolution Full-Color Micro LED Display under the Advanced Technology group, ITRI announced.
The low-power consumption tech boasts exceptional brightness with superior clarity and seamless splicing to outperform others in the field, according to ITRI’s description.
The final medal in the sustainable solutions category was won with ITRI’s PureTex Sustainable Decolorization Solution in the Water Treatment & Testing group.
Unlike current technology, ITRI said its decolorization solution generates no volatile organic compounds with over 95 percent efficiency in dye removal.
The 37th edition of the Edison Awards was held from April 17-19 in Fort Myers, Florida this year.
This year’s event marked the eighth consecutive year Taiwan has won awards.
On the achievement, ITRI President Edwin Liu (劉文雄) said that to be recognized by the Edison Awards means the institution is on the right track in its R&D products for the commercial market.
ITRI will continue to be innovative and seek to assist Taiwan’s industries to become competitive in the international market, Liu said.
(By Chang Chien-chung and James Lo)
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