Vivia Biotech and Ferrer develop new therapy for hematologic cancers
Ferrer has closed its R&D plant in Barcelona and will bank on agreements with biotechnology companies as the key to their expansion strategy.
By Biocat
Biotechnology firm Vivia Biotech, based at the University of Salamanca Science Park, and the Ferrer pharmaceutical group, in Barcelona, will collaborate to develop a new drug to treat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other hematologic cancers.
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is the most common hematologic cancer, making up 4% of all cancers. Joan Ballesteros, president and scientific director of Vivia Biotech, explains that “the arrival of new drugs with different, safer action mechanisms is an urgent need, as there is already a segment of patients that are intolerant to available therapies."
The new therapy will be developed from an already known drug, the name of which was not provided, currently administered to millions of patients around the world. “This strategy reduces the time taken to reach clinical practice compared to conventional approaches,” adds Ballesteros.
Vivia Biotech has a drug repositioning platform (ExviTech©) and their activity focuses on screening the effects of thousands of existing drugs directly on a standard biological sample from patients, like for example blood or bone marrow. This technology has been applied in large part, so far, to the field of hematologic cancers.
Ferrer’s contribution under this agreement is that they cover the whole value chain, from R&D to marketing, including industrial manufacturing and distribution (present in 90 countries). In 2011, the turnover of this pharmaceutical group surpassed €800 millions (by 6%), 50% of which was from exports. “This agreement will allow us to extend our wide-reaching presence in the hospital sector and reinforce our position in the field of oncology. It is an ambitious project that, we believe, will have a very positive impact on patient treatment and quality of life,” says Jordi Ramentol, CEO of the Ferrer Group.
As published in Expansión on 13 December, Ferrer has changed course in its R&D activity to boost public/private partnerships and projects with the biotechnology sector, closing their R&D plant in Barcelona and moving it to one of the former Gelos buildings in Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona). Ferrer acquired Gelos (which manufactures Gelocatil) in 2007. This step has led them to cut staff by 30 people, according to the company, through early retirement and a voluntary redundancy scheme.