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Advancell, Neurotec Pharma and Aromics join forces in the fight against multiple sclerosis

By 21 de December de 2010November 18th, 2020No Comments
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 21.12.2010

Advancell, Neurotec Pharma and Aromics join forces in the fight against multiple sclerosis

The biotech companies Advancell, Neurotec Pharma and Aromics –based at the Barcelona Science Park– have joined forces to create a new association of economic interests (AEI) called MSALS. The new association is aimed at developing a new drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. MSALS will have the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya through ACC1Ó that will fund part of the project through the programme entitled Clusters in Technological Innovation, a programme that is co-financed by the European Fund for Regional Development, FEDER, within the framework of the Operative Program of Regional Competitiveness and Occupation of Catalonia 2007-2013. The new association will also be coordinated by the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and by the Hospital de la Vall d'Hebron, with the collaboration of the Universitat de Barcelona-IDIBAPS for the conduct of the clinical trial.

The drugs currently used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis are immunomodulators that present serious side effects, have a limited efficacy and require parenteral administration (endovenous or subcutaneous route) which make it really difficult for the patient to adhere to the treatment. The new treatment to be develop, called NT-KO-003, has shown in animal models affected by the disease that is exerts and anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effect, and unlike currently used drugs, do not have an immunosupressor effect. This property would make it possible for these drugs to be combined, when needed, with other drugs without increasing their toxicity and to be administered to virtually all the patients affected with multiple sclerosis. Moreover, it is the first treatment that could slow down the development of the disease and reduce the neurological damage caused by the disease. It would also be one of the first treatments to be administered orally, since the few currently available drugs are administered via parenteral route (endovenously or subcutaneously).

The clinical trial of this new treatment in patients with multiple sclerosis will start during the first quarter of 2011. To be specific, the study will be carried out on a total of 100 patients in ten hospitals in Spain and in three hospitals in Germany. Once the clinical trial is successfully completed, Advancell and Neurotec Pharma will license the drug with a pharmaceutical company where it will continue to be developed until it is launched in the market. The total cost is approximately four million Euros and the potential target market of this new drug therapy has been estimated to reach nearly 5,300 million Euros.

The three biotech companies involved in the project contribute with their know-how in cooperation with the university and to the benefit of society.

According to the chairman of Advancell, Davide Sirtoli, “Advancell contributes to this project with its know-how in drug development, positions a new drug in a phase II stage, and shows, once more time, its commitment to create value and respond to unresolved medical needs”.

For the director general of Neurotec Pharma, Dr. Marco Pugliese, “this project is the best example of how scientific outcomes obtained in a university setting can be successfully applied to the business world by the hand of a company clearly devoted to research, development and innovation”. Finally, according to the director general of Aromics, Dr. Carmen Plasencia, “AROMICS contributes to this project with its know-how and experience in the evaluation of the molecular factors that are determinant regarding the efficacy and the patient´s response to the prescribed treatment. This project illustrates the activity of the company in the area of personalised medicine, promoting the improvement in diagnostics with a more effective and safer therapy to the benefit of the patient and society”.