The University of Santiago and ESTEVE in the discovery of new drugs.

-The building Emprendia of Campus life, welcomes the laboratory where a highly qualified team held pharmacological evaluation in vitro of therapeutic agents new potential

-the public-private partnerships between highly innovative firms such as ESTEVE and centres of excellence, as the USC BioFarma group, emerge as one of the keys to accelerate drug development

– with this model of alliances ESTEVE aims to optimize their r & d, at the same time that you want to contribute and promote scientific and research vocations among young Spanish people

Santiago de Compostela, 2011-October the Minister of health, Pilar Farjas has attended last Monday the presentation of the Centre, accompanied by Juan José Casares Long, Rector USC, Mabel LozaCoordinator of the Group BioFarma and Antoni Esteve, President of ESTEVE. In the Act have also been present Director General of research, development and innovation of the Xunta, Ricardo Chapel, and other authorities, who have done a tour the facilities.

The collaboration between ESTEVE and the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) has materialized through the creation of a laboratory for the discovery of new drugs which is incorporated for the first time in Galicia a public-private collaboration system based on the model of open innovation. This unit is dedicated to the development and implementation of automated methods for determination of in Vitro pharmacological activity of potential active ingredients. After 12 months of successful journey, composite, this unit is linked, in Galicia, with the network of r & d pharmaceutical comprising groups of its three universities in three hospital foundations as well as the Instituto Carlos III COMBIOMED network.

ESTEVE has chosen the USC by their high scientific level, their experience in pharmaceutical research, the excellence and the professional competence of its team (formed mostly by young researchers, with training at the level of doctorate) and depositing high expectations of success in the development of new medicines in this project. This joint research project is situated in an environment of multidisciplinary knowledge generation biomedical, focused on new mechanisms of action, to identify new active molecules within the field of pain (main line of investigation of ESTEVE).

Our responsibility also involves encouraging research vocation in our young people. Since ESTEVE and the USC we intend to promote a new future for young people, especially for those who have shown interest in science and technology. We can not miss this opportunity to ” has commented Dr. Antoni Esteve, President of ESTEVE.

Integrated in the Campus life of Santiago de Compostela, specifically in the Emprendia building, the joint unit established by ESTEVE and the USC goes beyond the classical of enterprise-University partnership concept that not only integrates the objectives of the r & d projects, but also facilities and researchersfacilitating a greater interrelationship and fluidity in the development of new pharmaceutical projects. According to Antoni Esteve, the objective of this type of Alliance is to create a new model of r & d network where excellence, as it is the case of the USC, is the main hallmark, guaranteeing the highest scientific and technological level for our projects ”.

Mixed research units: the amount of talent as an engine to accelerate results in research

The process of r & d of new drugs is a costly and complex process involving a wide range of scientific disciplines that in recent years, have undergone major advances, many of them facilitated by new technologies.

The need to remove barriers among different scientific disciplines, both groups more interested in basic research (generally in the public sector) and those more oriented to the development of new drugs (mainly from the private sphere), has promoted ESTEVE in the establishment of collaboration agreements that allow to share the knowledge of all the actors involved at different stages of the process r & d.

Examples of these partnership agreements, are so-called mixed research units between businesses and public facilities, in which research personnel hired by the academic Center develops research projects of the company, in laboratories located in the Centre of academic and equipped by the company. The aim is to incorporate the maximum talent to business projects, having access to large installations that a company alone cannot be allowed.

In the case of ESTEVE, has two mixed units underway: ESTEVE-USC in a laboratory of the building Emprendia of the University of Santiago de Compostela, and ESTEVE-ICIQ located in the Catalan Institute for chemical research of Tarragona. Likewise, ESTEVE has a chemical laboratory and another of Pharmacology in the Parc Científic de Barcelona.

All these initiatives, consolidate a model of r & d network that ESTEVE started a few years ago and who have an active policy of partnerships with universities, public research centres, technology based companies and other companies of the sector as a central axis.

About ESTEVE

ESTEVE is a leading pharmaceutical group in Spain and with a significant international presence. Since its founding in 1929, maintains a strong commitment to excellence, devoting all its efforts to promote health and improve the quality of life of people. ESTEVE research constitutes their main hallmark and boasts a portfolio of highly innovative projects whose final purpose is to provide answers to medical needs not covered properly.

In the field of public-private collaborative research, ESTEVE is a pioneer in Spain, highlighting the project HIVACAT, a joint initiative of the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona and Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, with the participation of the Fundación La Caixa and the departments of health, economy and knowledge of the Generalitat de Catalunyapursued the development of vaccines prophylactic and/or therapeutic for HIV. At the same time, collaboration with the CBATEG of the Autonomous University of Barcelona in the draft Sanfilippo, pursues the development of a gene therapy for the treatment of the Sanfilippo syndrome.