Debiopharm recognised with European Biopharmaceuticals company of the year award

The 2010 Frost & Sullivan Europe Company of the Year Award in Biopharmaceuticals is presented to Debiopharm Group™ (Debiopharm).

Debiopharm has a business model of in-licensing new molecules from biotech companies, pharmaceutical and start up companies as well as academic institutions based worldwide. It then adds value through a creative development strategy. Towards the end of the development process, it out-licenses the developed and registered drugs to pharmaceutical firms for worldwide commercialisation.

"The company specialises in the drug development process, successfully bringing novel biopharmaceuticals to market," notes Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Ranjith Gopinathan. "By independently funding the worldwide development of its products, Debiopharm is able to excel in drug development."

To date, Debiopharm has successfully developed five products. These include Eloxatin®/ Elplat® for the treatment of colorectal cancer, Decapeptyl®/Trelstar®/Pamorelin® of different formulations for the palliative treatment of advanced prostate cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibromyomas, precocious puberty, female infertility (part of the in vitro fertilisation program), breast cancer and ovarian cancer, and Moapar®/Salvacyl® for the treatment of severe sexual deviations.

The lead products Decapeptyl®/Trelstar® and Eloxatin® are among the key products of its commercial partners. Debiopharm has built synergistic partnerships with a wide range of biotechnology, pharmaceutical and academic organisations including Ache, Aurigene, CAT, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Ferring, Ipsen, Kirin, LG Life Sciences, Nagoya-City University, NanoCarrier, Novartis, Pfizer, Pharmaleads, Ranbaxy, Rowfarma, Salix, Sanofi-Aventis, Sidus, TcLand, Tecnofarma, Tulane University, Yakult and Watson Pharmaceuticals.

Debiopharm has a good mix of pipeline products in various phases of clinical trials. Its key pipeline candidates are Debio 8206 for Hormone-dependent prostate cancer, which has successfully been submitted for approval and is now commercialized in many key markets, as well as Debio 025 (licensed to Novartis worldwide, except Japan) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Debio 0932 expected to be licensed for an oncology indication, both of which are at an advanced stage of clinical trials.

"By maximising the commercial potential of its partnered therapeutic products, Debiopharm is able to provide leadership to its partners and customers," remarks Gopinathan. "Moreover, it reinvests the commercial returns into the development of a new generation of products for its customers, underlining its commitment to continuous product innovation."

Each year, this Award is presented to the company that has excelled in the following criteria: growth strategy excellence, growth implementation excellence, degree of innovation with products and technologies and leadership in customer value.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.