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Esteve's R&D Center for Drug Discovery and Preclinical Development is located at PCB. (Photo: Daniel Portales, Parc Científic de Barcelona).
 01.03.2016

Esteve reaffirms its commitment to open innovation to develop a platform of gene therapy projects

Esteve strengthens its Gene Therapy Platform with two new therapies for Sanfilippo B (EGT-201) and Hunter (EGT-301) syndromes, both developed in collaboration with the Center for Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy (CBATEG) of the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB). These two new projects join the leading program for the treatment of Sanfilippo A (EGT-101), whose clinical trial will start in late 2016. On Setember 2012, Esteve has moved its Centre for Drug Research and Development to the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) in an attempt to shorten development time and speed up the arrival to market of innovative new drugs. 

 

The gene therapy platform was initiated by the research team of Professor Fàtima Bosch at the CBATEG of UAB and since 2009 is being developed within the framework of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between Esteve and the University.

In this partnership, Esteve leads all activities associated with the management and protection of intellectual property, regulatory activities, the coordination and supervision of GMP manufacturing, the preclinical toxicology studies as well as all clinical development.

The CBATEG research team at the UAB brings to the partnership their scientific know-how and expertise in gene therapy including viral vector design and the development of preclinical disease models. CBATEG/UAB and Esteve have recently strengthened their collaboration by signing a long-term contract to pursue the discovery and development of gene therapies for other rare diseases.

“With the addition of EGT-201 and EGT-301 to create a strong pipeline of projects, Esteve reaffirms its commitment to developing gene therapies to treat severe and debilitating rare diseases. The company plans to expand its platform to other currently untreated disease conditions with the aim of bringing cures to underserved patients and becoming a reference in the field of gene therapy for rare diseases,” said Dr. Carlos Plata, Chief Scientific Officer at Esteve

“The Orphan Drug Designations obtained for all three projects underscore the excellence of the preclinical discovery capabilities at the UAB, while reinforcing the public-private partnership between the University and Esteve”, said Fàtima Bosch, PI of the project and Director at the Center for Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy (CBATEG) and Full Professor at the UAB. “We are excited to continue our collaboration with Esteve in the quest to develop and bring novel gene therapy cures for rare diseases to patients in need, and to that end we have recently renewed and strengthened the collaboration between CBATEG/UAB and Esteve”.