Spain's Biotech Revolution

Working Together

The Barcelona Science Park, housed at the University of Barcelona, bustles with constant construction. As soon as companies and research groups fill existing space, more is in demand. The facility is one of the many new research centers in the city that, in partnership with hospitals and local companies, continue to propel Barcelona into the biotechnology future.

Oryzon Genomics, spun off from the Spanish National Research Council and the University of Barcelona, opened its doors in 2001. The company focuses on gene discovery and has developed a highthroughput screening technique to focus on genes of interest, their expression, and their pathways of action.

“The idea in 2000 was that we wanted to develop new applications for discovering key genes in fundamental processes,” says Carlos Buesa, Oryzon director and one of the company’s founders.

This technique has allowed Oryzon Genomics to compare tissues, for instance comparing cancerous tumors to healthy tissue, or diseased brains to healthy ones, to discover the genes or proteins that differ from one to the other. The next step for the company has been to discover these biomarkers in more easily accessible samples, such as urine or blood.

They have several products for early detection of cancer and of neurodegenerative diseases based on this technology; in many cases, advanced early detection can lead to significantly improved chances of successful treatment. The products in the most advanced stages of development are to detect endometrial, colorectal, ovarian, and lung cancers.

This gene screening technique has also led Oryzon Genomics to develop its own therapeutic antibodies, based on their protein discovery. Two are headed for preclinical proof-of-concept trials later this year.

Buesa says its origins in the Barcelona Science Park helped the company on its successful path. “The location was providential,” says Buesa. “It was one of the best ideas here in Catalonia [to create a science park] where young companies could be embedded into institutes and share facilities and instruments and equipment, and the creative atmosphere. In the early days we had very little money to invest in instruments and sophisticated facilities.”

The Barcelona Science Park is the largest local incubator thus far, home to 50 companies; but an even larger one is under development. “There are 17 science parks in Catalonia, and 9 have activities in life sciences,” says Montserrat Daban, head of external affairs for BioCat. The city will also be home to Spain’s new genome sequencing center.

Another company housed at the science park is Advancell, founded in 2001 by a group of professors and researchers in Barcelona and Valencia. In 2004 the company launched their nanomedicine unit, the first main product of which is an invitro cell reagent to ascertain the oral absorption of chemicals and drugs. The product, called CacoReady, is now entering the North American market.

Advancell has also moved into therapeutics and is developing nano-based medicines for a variety of diseases. They’ve created nanocapsules for molecules to treat skin diseases such as psoriasis, which greatly improve the delivery and efficacy of existing treatments.

One of the recent products that Advancell has patented began as a solution for an in-house problem. They wanted to send cells to companies, but living cells do not survive freezing and transport well. “We’ve invented a transport medium, a gel. Instead of being frozen, the cells survive transport alive and well,” says Davide Sirtoli, CEO.

Researchers at Biotools transformed a similar challenge into a business opportunity. Their first forays into biotechnology were to produce enzymes for molecular biology applications. But the enzymes and reagents for the process usually needed to be mailed individually at below freezing temperatures. In response, Biotools created and patented a process in which all the compounds for a complex reaction can be mailed together, semidried, stabilized, and suspended in a gel at just above freezing; the addition of water catalyzes the process. Biotools has honed the process for HIV and hepatitis C and is currently working with the government of Brazil to apply the technology around the country for diagnostic testing.

“This was mainly to solve an internal problem,” says Sonia Rodríguez, licensing and partnering manager. “We had problems with shipping goods at - 20? Celsius. But then we realized this had a greater value.”

Diagnostics are the basis for Ingenasa as well. More than twenty years ago, Ingenasa founders focused on the African swine fever virus, a disease that now plagues pig farms across Europe. The company’s sensitive diagnostic became a success, leading to diagnostics for close to 80 different products. Ingenasa sells its products to major livestock centers in countries such as China and India. Included in the diagnostics are the robotic system and rapid throughput testing to analyze tens of thousands of samples in only a few hours.

Today, the company is expanding from their expertise in animal husbandry and moving into human health products. “We made this decision,” says Carmen Vela, Ingenasa’s managing director, “because the veterinary field is an interesting and important one, but it’s not really the field for making a difference with technological breakthroughs.”

Ingenasa has built on its expertise in designing vaccines for livestock viruses. The company has developed a technology that produces a capsid covered in proteins; identical to the virus it Is attacking but not biologically active. “We were able to demonstrate that these capsids can induce very specific T-cell response—and this could lead to the treatment of some kinds of tumors,” says Vela.