R&D+i

R&D+i reveals all the potential value of FAES FARMA’s traditional vademecum, composed of innovative and high quality medicines, reinforcing our presence in the principal therapeutic areas and facilitating new synergic commercial agreements with other global pharmaceutical companies.

In this respect, FAES FARMA has focused on R&D+i for the development of new drugs that can offer clinical benefits in the therapeutic areas in which the company aims to achieve a position of leadership and in which it already has experience.

Resources and organisation

The Research Centre is staffed by around 70 highly qualified people, among which there are more than 40 university graduates. More than 14,000,000 euros were spent on R&D+i in 2017 and almost 3,000,000 euros invested in equipment.

Projects are carried out in the installations in Leioa (Bizkaia), in Avenida Autonomía 10, dedicating more than 4000 M² to this work.

The R&D+i department is organised in three large areas: IDi API (R&D+i for Active Ingredients), IDi Farma (R&D+i for Development and Pharmaceutical Technologies) and IDi Clínica (Clinical R&D+i). Other valuable teams also collaborate in areas such as Project Management and R&D+I Promotion.

Exciting projects: FAES2020

FAES FARMA launched in January 2015 a Strategic Initiative called FAES2020 which defines the main strategic objectives in R& D+i for the next 5 years:  the development of 20 novel medicines before the end of 2020. This initiative seeks not only to expand the supply of Bilastine products, but to extend its life cycle with new patents, to internationalize and to enlarge FAES FARMA portfolio, Moreover, there is a plan to develop a new chemical entity within the area that has given us so much success: Allergy.

• As a result of FAES FARMA’s effort to enhance R&D+I, important milestones have been achieved, including:The marketing in 2016 of an innovative medicine that complements FAES FARMA’s catalogue of products in its Vitamin D line. Hidroferol Soft Gelatin Capsule represents a remarkable step forward in the comfort and simplicity of administration taking for patients, significantly improving presentations currently available in the market.
• The approval in 2016 of bilastine in Japan, a market that concentrates more than 26% of the world sales in euros of prescription antihistamines.

The European approval in 2017 of paediatric bilastine in its oral solution and orodispersible tablet presentations

• The approval in 2017 of Claversal 1g gastro-resistant tablets by the Spanish Agency of Medicines, relevant change in posology for ulcerative colitis reliief.
• Building and set up of a Pilot Plant for manufacturing drugs under research at the necessary scale for clinical and development phases, which will enable the development of these new drugs in an effective manner and within a global regulatory framework, including specific requirements, not only European, but also American

Following the lines of this Strategic Plan in R&D+i, FAES FARMA:

• Has presented more than 5 European patent applications.

• Is developing 15 of the innovative drugs included in the FAES2020 strategic initiative, which correspond to 5 innovative drugs in the Bilaxten line, 3 in the Claversal line, one in each of the Hidroferol, Venosmil, Hemorrane and Dynamogen product lines and 3 new drugs that will complement the FAES FARMA product lines in the Allergy/ENT, Gastroenterology, Trauma/Rheumatism and Family Care therapeutic lines.