Tuesday 23 September 2008

Orfagen — Company Profile

Orfagen
Parc Technologique du Canal
4, rue Marie Curie
BP 22132
31521 Ramonville Saint Agne Cedex
France

Tel.: +33 (0)5 62 24 76 83
Fax: +33 (0)5 61 24 76 86
Website: http://www.orfagen.com/

A pharmaceutical company dedicaded to dermatological rare disorders.
Subsidiary company of the Pierre Fabre Laboratories, ORFAGEN develops new drugs for patients affected by rare diseases with dermatological impact.


Orfagen is a new pharmaceutical laboratory, working with the best dermatologists in the field towards an objective of creating new drugs and medicines from research to market place.

Profile

Orfagen develops pharmaceutical and biotechnology products to treat patients suffering from skin disorders, and is particularly interested in the innovation of treatments for rare and serious skin conditions where treatment has not, as yet, been provided. Orfagen will also make available more conventional treatments that are insufficiently dispensed and reimbursed to patients.

with the Pierre Fabre Laboratories, whose interests and expertise in dermatology is world renowned, as the main shareholder. Orfagen’s current research portfolio has thus been carried out without the need for supplementary outside funding.
Key Points
  • The Pierre-Fabre Group as major shareholder, highly dedicated to dermatology
  • Assured long-term funding
  • Advanced research portfolio
  • Worldwide expertise in dermatology
Strategy

Resulting from the use of an original technique for the identification of new molecules and drug discovery (Capture-Recapture Search and Validation technique, CARES-V), Orfagen’s current portfolio includes seven research projects. Product sources are products developed in-house, in-licensed products and products developed in cooperation with outside partners. Orfagen’s partners are either large international pharmaceutical companies, which cannot devote resources or focus on orphan products, or biotechnology companies seeking a co-development and/or commercial partner in Europe. Universities and public research institutes also participate with Orfagen in the development of certain projects.

For its commercial activities, Orfagen will implement its own marketing resources and sales forces throughout the European Union. Promotion of Orfagen’s products will be mainly directed towards university hospitals and specialised centres. Orfagen can also take advantage of the worldwide commercial structure of Pierre-Fabre, which is represented in more than 100 countries.

Human Resources

Orfagen currently employs staff covering activities in clinical drug development, regulatory affairs and administration. The marketing and commercial structures will be implemented in the near future.

Achievements

Four projects in Orfagen's portfolio have already reached their clinical development phase. The company owns five orphan drug designations granted by the European Agency for Medicinal Products (EMEA), and two designations by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Acquisition of value is also built on exclusive licensing rights in some projects.

Fields of Interest
  • Dermatology
  • Rare disorders
  • Dermatological diseases with unresolved medical needs
  • Innovative therapies and projects
  • Biotechnologies

Source: Orfagen