Biotechnology and biomedicine valued by Bosch i Gimpera Foundation Prizes
Intelligent Pharma and the project 'Formoterol: a new therapeutic strategy in cachexia treatment' of the UB teacher, Sílvia Busquets, have received the recognition as better innovative company and better knowledge transfer project, respectively.
BY BIOCAT
Formoterol: a new therapeutic strategy in cachexia treatment, a project leaded by the University of Barcelona teacher, Sílvia Busquets, and biocomputing company Intelligent Pharma have been awarded with the UB Social Council and Bosch i Gimpera Foundation Prizes 2011. The first one, as better knowledge transfer project (with a prize of 5,000 Euros), and the second, as better innovative company (with a prize of 10,000 Euros).
The fact that Formoterol project consists of a product that is already in advanced study Phase IIA with patients, as well as the continuity of the collaboration and the publications carried out, are the issues that have been valued when awarding the prize to this project of the associated teacher of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Sílvia Busquets. The knowledge transfer prize has been awarded to a pharmaceutical company of Cambridge (United Kingdom) dedicated to the elaboration of products for the treatment of the symptoms of patients with cancer. The patent was granted in June 2008 to this pharmaceutical company, which is carrying out a clinical study in Phase IIA with patients of the Hospital Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to verify its utility against cachexia in humans.
As Intelligent Pharma is concerned, the jury has appraised, together with the business results, the company’s interest in both, the home and international markets and the strength of its entrepreneurial team. The company was established in 2007 with the support of Bosch i Gimpera Foundation located at the Barcelona Science Park Bioincubator. Intelligent Pharma offers computational services for pharmaceutical life sciences sector companies based on an own software (Helios). It is formed by a team of 13 qualified professionals. In 2010 it doubled its annual turnover, it opened the first international branch at Technologiepark Heidelberg (Germany) and soon will open a second subsidiary in Cambridge (United Kingdom), and a third office in the United States. It has also been considered favourably the strategic alliance with the start-up SOM Biotech, dedicated to drug repositioning.
The award delivery act took place yesterday evening at the UB Aula Magna in the Gran Via of Barcelona, with the presence of the UB rector, Dídac Ramírez; the president of the UB Social Council, Joaquim Coello; Bosch i Gimpera Foundation managing director, M. Carme Verdaguer; the president of Círculo de Economía, Salvador Alemany; among other personalities of the university, scientific and business world.