Spain's Biotech Revolution

Coretherapix, also within the Genetrix family, is developing products that are based on stem cell therapy for myocardial regeneration after infarctions (heart attacks). Although stem cell therapy to treat heart attack patients has thus far proved elusive, Coretherapix focuses on adult stem cell populations that reside in the heart itself. The company is also developing a growth-factor treatment to stimulate cardiac stem cells to heal the trauma from an attack. Genetrix scientific director Gabriel Márquez sees Coretherapix as the next company to duplicate Cellerix’s success.

Genetrix’s experience has inspired many others interested in biotechnology, and this has “generated more and more interest in Spanish society,” says Márquez. “The number of companies has grown considerably, and the sector has seen a notable increase in support and interest from the government.”

PharmaMar, which investigates the anti-tumor properties of marine life, was created in 1986 by José María Fernández-Sousa. Since then, the company has amassed the largest private library of marine life samples in the world, more than 70,000 to date. Its scientists regularly go on dives in biologically rich areas in cooperation with local governments and research institutions, and they bring back samples of a wealth of underwater life.

These samples are evaluated for cancer-fighting properties. The most successful so far has been Yondelis, PharmaMar’s first product to go on the market and the first marine anti-tumor drug in the world.

“We isolated it from an invertebrate called Ecteinascidia turbinata, which was quite difficult,” says Luis Mora, general director of PharmaMar. Clinical trials began in 1996, and Yondelis was licensed to Johnson and Johnson in 2001, with shared rights for codevelopment and commercialization. Yondelis has been approved for soft tissue sarcoma and is awaiting authorization for use against ovarian cancer as well.

Yondelis works by attaching to the tumor’s DNA and preventing it from reproducing, halting the tumor’s growth. “This mechanism of action is different from other products on the market,” says Mora, “and it will work well in combination with other products.” With ovarian cancer, he explains that there’s a synergistic benefit to the patient when Yondelis is combined with current treatments. “We think this is only the tip of the iceberg for Yondelis,” says Mora.

A second product, isolated from a sea creature called a marine tunicate, is now in clinical trials for use on deep cell lymphomas and multiple myelomas, both cancers for which today there is no effective treatment. Two other products are also in the pipeline, with more on the way.

Noscira, part of the Zeltia Group, in the same family of companies as PharmaMar, takes advantage of the PharmaMar marine library to search for compounds that could treat central nervous system diseases. The company began in 2000 with two patents licensed from the Spanish Research Council for a family of compounds to treat Alzheimer’s and a transgenic mouse that reproduces major features of neurodegenerative diseases. The company has two compounds in clinical trials.

“In the brain of any Alzheimer’s patient, you will find tangles and plaques, the two major lesions that constitute hallmarks of the disease,” says Belén Sopesén, director of Noscira. “The drugs currently on the market don’t work at the level of the lesions, they only treat the symptoms. They don’t delay the disease.” Noscira’s compounds are designed to interfere with the development of the lesions, and thus slow the disease’s progression.

In a lab not far from the PharmaMar marine library, Noscira researchers isolate samples of marine compounds in their screening platforms. If one is found to have promise, it’s isolated, developed, and tested against disease models. Already they have found a number of marine compounds that have similar mechanisms to combat Alzheimer’s, and are preparing them for clinical trials.

Genomica, also a member of the Zeltia group, focuses on microarrays—DNA chips—for sensitive and specific diagnostics. Their most popular product today, sold around the world, tests for the human papilloma virus (HPV). Unlike standard tests, where doctors must interpret the results, their product includes software that gives the doctors the exact results immediately. It can also detect small amounts of variations of the virus to assist early diagnosis.

After the success of the HPV diagnostic, “We then began considering other diseases caused by viruses or bacteria that could be included” to be addressed by the company’s technology, says Rosario Cospedal, CEO, focusing on highly transmissible respiratory and sexually transmitted diseases. Genomica also provides DNA identification services for the Spanish police for crime scenes and paternity tests.