Madrid biocluster at heart of BIO-Europe Spring® 2008, April 7-9
The companies and research activities based around Madrid form the heart of Spain’s emerging biotechnology industry. Today, Madrid leads Spain with 32% of total biotech companies and, significantly, accounts for 83% of R&D investment by biotech companies.
We invite you to join international pharma and biotech leaders as they converge on Madrid April 7-9 for BIO-Europe Spring 2008 at the Municipal Conference Center.
To spice up the appetite of participants for the offerings to be found in sunny Spain, Irene Herrera, Life Sciences Business Development Director for PromoMadrid provided BIO-Europe Partnering News with some quick profiles of emerging opportunities.
- Suan Farma, founded in 1993, markets and distributes active pharmaceutical ingredients for the pharmaceutical and veterinary industry reporting sales of € 55 million and a presence in 60 countries. Suan Farma spun out the biotechnology division in order to set it up as a Venture Capital company and an investment fund (€ 30 million) is being developed to invest in approximately 10 biotech startups.
- Cellerix is a clinical biopharmaceutical company that actively develops and produces innovative medicines based on the use of adult stem cells. The company has a developing product pipeline which includes two products undergoing clinical trials. In Phase III in Europe, Cx401 targets the treatment of perianal fistulas. Cx501 targeting skin regeneration is in Phase II. Both have been granted orphan drug status.
- Bionostra Group. Founded in 2000 by researchers from the National Biotechnology Center the group today reports turnover of € 800,000 with 60 employees. Having recently raised €7 million in second round financing the group plans to split into four independent companies: Bionostra for recombinant production and genetic identification, a new division Bionostra Salud specialized in analysis and genetic testing for inherited cancer, Bioalma developing innovative solutions to specialized bioinformatics problems, and Microbionta developing diagnostics and therapies based on the expression of antibodies and antibody-like molecules in bacteria.
- Thrombotargets, a group of biotech companies developing new medicines for the treatment of inherited and acquired hemorrhagic and thrombotic disorders said it plans to invest €13 million in a pilot plant in Madrid that will come online in 2009.
The recent announcement that Sanofi-Aventis will open a new research and development centre in Madrid was welcomed by other pharmaceutical firms located in a biocluster that is reaching critical mass.
Sanofi-Aventis’ new neighbors in Madrid include Merck Sharp & Dohme, Glaxco-Smith Kline and Eli Lilly who also located R&D centers there.
Sanofi-Aventis said it will invest nearly $10.5 million for establishing the basic research center of 8,000 square meters adjacent to the manufacturing plant the company already has in Madrid.
Sanofi-aventis has also signed collaboration agreements with several universities of Madrid.
BIO-Europe Spring 2008 will feature an exceptionally high-level faculty for panels and workshops where industry experts provide updated analyses and share their experience with the audience.
Selected biotechnology, mid-sized and big pharmaceutical companies present their products/technologies and corporate missions in 15-minute presentations while young innovative start-ups have 7-minute opportunities in the “Next Generation” sessions.
In collaboration with the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Genoma España, and PromoMadrid, BIO-Europe Spring 2008 is designed to generate on one-to-one meetings, complemented by company presentations and a lively exhibition.
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