Eurofarma integrates world consortium
Gazeta Mercantil 11/24/2008
The Brazilian laboratory Eurofarma will integrate a world corsortium formed by 21 companies present in all continents to make clinical researches on glioma, a rare kind of child brain cancer. The study will focus on the Nimotuzumab, an innovative new biotechnological molecule that is already being licensed to be sold in the Brazilian market. According to the corporate vice-president of Eurofarma, Nelson Mussolini, the product has already been proven effective against child brain cancer and the new researches will now show the use of the molecule for the treatment of other kinds of head and neck cancer as well. According to the research and development officer of Eurofarma, Kati Vannucci Chaim, together with the studies for the use of the Nimotuzumab antibody for head and neck, the Brazilian laboratory will also perform its own researches on the action of the medicine on tumors in the esophagus. What is important in the agreement entered into in the end of October, assessed Mussolini, is the exchange of information among the several centers involved in the study, which makes it a much faster research. Besides that, it puts the medicine on trial in several conditions of weather, culture, food habits, and so on. Nimotuzumab has been approved as an orphan drug by the regulatory agency in the USA (Food and Drug Administration - FDA). It is, thus, a drug intended for rare diseases, or which are difficult to treat and whose approval is made in a different way. The "Nimotuzumab Global Development Consortium" comprises international centers of reference like the YM Biosciences, from Canada and the United States; Oncoscience, from Germany an the European Community; Daiishi-Sankyo, from Japan; Biocon, from India; Cimab, form Cuba, among others. The agreement with the world consortium of researches is an important milestone to Eurofarma. Since the beginning of this decade, the third greatest pharmaceutical company of national capital and fifth in the Brazilian general ranking outlined very clear strategic plans to become the third largest company in the ranking. The plans include, besides innovative researches as that of the new molecule, the strengthening of the company's purpose, the outsourcing of the production. "We want to be the number one partner of the innovation companies all over the world", said Mussolini.