URIACH and ORYZON GENOMICS announce a technological, collaborative agreement

The pharmaceutical company URIACH SA and biotechnology company Oryzon Genomics announced today in Barcelona the signing of a collaborative agreement that will permit the pharmaceutical company to apply genomic analysis tools to animal model systems in the therapeutics field of inflammation

The pharmaceutical company URIACH SA and biotechnology company Oryzon Genomics announced today in Barcelona the signing of a collaborative agreement. The agreement, whose financial value has not been disclosed, will permit the pharmaceutical company to apply genomic analysis tools to animal model systems in the therapeutics field of inflammation. The use of this new technology is central to the process of discovery, validation, and development of new pharmaceuticals and employs, other among other techniques, DNA chip technology and bioinformatics analysis to predict the response and toxicity of lead compounds under study.

The Uriach Group, which operates in over 50 countries and grossed over 170 M Euros last year, is the third largest Spanish pharmaceutical company and dedicates 11% of its resources to R+D. Its pharmaceutical research portfolio has centered on the field of inflammatory processes. External collaborations are the basis of Uriachs R+D strategies.

Oryzon is a functional genomics company which bases its business model on gene discovery. This consists of large scale research on the genes of a given organism with the objective of patenting the proceedings of its genetic research and deveopment. Oryzon emerged from the University of Barcelona and the IBMB-CSIC and is located in the Barcelona Science Park. With 22 employees, 19 of whom have higher degrees, it is experiencing a period of rapid growth, initially financed by the venture capital firm NAJETI. It also recently received an additional investment from ENISA, which has permitted this biotechnology firm to fortify its presence in the biomedicine arena with projects related to neurodegenerative illnesses such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers diseases as well as projects related to the human genome. CEO Carlos Buesa considers this agreement to be a very positive development: Oryzon is in a good position to convert itself into an indispensable partner to the Spanish pharmaceutical industry and this agreement reinforces our commitment in the biomedicine and human research fields."

Both companies foresee their collaborations facilitated by their close physical proximity in the Barcelona Science Park, which is the first Spanish science park to unite research groups from the university and the CSIC together with pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies.