INNOVATION
in the beginning of 2016, into the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), with head offices in Toronto (Canada) and Oxford (United Kingdom). It is an international partnership between universities, governments and industries to accelerate the development of new medicines. “Aché was the first Brazilian pharma invited to be part of the consortium and has been contributing to high impact research, published in international scientific journals. The focus of this collaboration is the research in kinases, enzymes directly connected to several kinds of cancer”, explains Saverio. In 2017 Aché opened, in partnership with the Swiss multinational Ferring, the Nanotechnology Innovation Laboratory Enterprise (NILE), the first laboratory of Latin America dedicated to research and develop-
AMGEN 28 bioBr
AMGEN was founded in 1980 with a “biology first” approach, employing cutting-edge science and technology to study the biological mechanisms of complex diseases and create innovative therapies. The company opened its Brazilian branch in 2009 to coordinate clinical research for South America. In 2011, Amgen acquired the local pharmaceutical company Bergamo, reacquired products licensed to other companies in the country and started its commercial operations. Currently, the company offers 11 therapies for Oncology & Hematology, Bone Diseases, Cardiovascular and Nephrology. In Brazil, the company invests around US$12 million per year in clinical trials and
ment of products based on the use of nanotechnology in drug delivery systems. The laboratory counts on cutting-edge equipment to develop technologies that can be transferred to industrial scale. That is a successful partnership with a substantial project pipeline that already represents a great accomplishment for both enterprises. The structured investments made by the company over the last years, combined with the process of thinking innovation collectively, have been generating consistent outcomes. Thirty new drugs were launched last year and 34 are expected to 2018. Aché has a pipeline with 145 projects in different development stages and stands watchful to the global pharmaceutical market and the best opportunities for research and development. ●
coordinates research initiatives for eight countries in Latin America. This contributes to validate therapies with a multiethnic group, train healthcare professionals, increase scientific development and anticipate medical innovation in Brazil. In addition to this continuous investment, Amgen recently reinforced its Real-World Evidence area in Brazil, with resources fully focused on real world data generation, bringing to stakeholders more information for better decisions in the Brazilian healthcare system. For the next years, our strategy in Brazil is to focus on the approval of new therapies and indications, as well as launching a portfolio of biosimilar medicines. Biotechnology provides sophisticated ways to attack disease, and Amgen was among