Reig Jofré and Ojer Pharma to co-develop new dermatological drug
Nobactine will be manufactured in the Catalan pharmaceutical group’s plants in Sant Joan Despí (Barcelona) and Malmö.
By Biocat
The Reig Jofré Group has signed an agreement with Ojer Pharma, a spin-off of the University of Navarra, to jointly develop and market Nobactine, a bioadhesive lipogel to treat primary and secondary dermatological infections like impetigo, folliculitis and furunculosis.
The innovative aspect of this drug is it application method, in the form of a bioadhesive gel, developed and patented by Ojer Pharma in collaboration with the Universities of Barcelona and Navarra.
The consortium, with a total investment of nearly €3 millions, will carry out the final stages of development (phase III) and Reig Jofré will be in charge of manufacturing and international approval. Both activities will be carried out at the Catalan pharmaceutical group’s facilities in Sant Joan Despí (Barcelona) and Malmö (Sweden). To market the product, Reig Jofré will use their network of international contacts with more than 180 partners in 50 countries.
Ignasi Biosca, CEO of the group and the third generation in the family business, says that this agreement “is another step forward in our model to forge collaboration agreements with start-ups, to which we have been committed for years now. This brings value to the company thanks to the synergies established between R&D experience and significant market knowledge present in a consolidated company like Reig Jofré and the dynamism that a small pharmaceutical company can contribute.”
Reig Jofré’s global turnover totals €100 millions, with 50% coming from exports.
Visit the Reig Jofré facilities
Reig Jofré is one of the companies in the BioRegion of Catalonia that is supporting the top European partnering congress, BIO-Europe Spring en Barcelona, to be held in Barcelona from 11 to 13 March. Coinciding with this event, the company will open the doors of its corporate headquarters in Sant Joan Despí on 10 March at 3 pm for a guided visit.
The Sant Joan Despí plant was remodeled in 2000 and has three independent buildings and a total surface area of 23,000 square meters. Since 2008, they have had a center of excellence in lyophilization, enabling them to develop lyophilized products in vials for generic and biotechnology drugs.