Health Biotechnology
Objectives
- Development of new products and services (nutraceuticals, pellets, tests, kits)
- Multidisciplinary studies of the effects of bioproducts in the pre-clinical phase
- Optimising the scientific and technical capacity of the research team
- Positioning of EuroEspes as a reference in R&D&I
Bioproduct Development
The EuroEspes Group's efforts in bioprospecting result in the continuous discovery and development of new compounds with biological activity, which will demonstrate their preventive/therapeutic effect in pre-clinical trials:
- Exploration Stage: "Primary Screening" during which a potential functional compound (active substance) is discovered and a Proof of Concept (PoC) is established through cell culture studies ("in vitro").
- Confirmation Stage: "Secondary screening" during which the effect of this bioactive compound on a specific disease is tested in an experimental study in animal models ("in vivo").
These analyses are part of the regulatory pre-clinical stage, which serves both to demonstrate the lack of adverse effects and the bioactive characterisation of the final formulation. The figure below shows the three basic steps: discovery, pre-clinical and clinical.
Pre-clinical phase:
Preclinical development of a nutraceutical or bioproduct refers to the set of efficacy and safety studies of the active substance to be performed in complex biological systems, i.e., in animal models. The purpose of the pre-clinical phase is to characterise the efficacy and safety of the medicinal product in cellular systems "in vitro" and in animal models "in vivo". Preclinical development comprises of an initial phase of screening of new candidate molecules, followed by an investigation of their potential pharmacological action, and finally by a safety assessment. The key to success is that candidate molecules possess certain favourable properties: adequate biological activity and solubility, ability to cross critical barriers, reasonable metabolic stability, and safety in human administration.
The pre-clinical phase of all our bioproducts includes the following stages:
- Analysis of the compound / active ingredient
- Selection of the relevant species
- In vitro pharmacological study
- In vivo pharmacodynamics study (efficacy studies)
- Dose range and safety test in rodents
- Repeated dose toxicity in rodents
- Final report
Each bioproduct needs its own pre-clinical development, considering the regulatory environment and guidelines that apply. In this sense, it is essential to consider the regulatory requirements of the US ("Food and Drug Administration", FDA) and Europe ("European Medicines Agency", EMA) in which the bioproducts developed will be marketed.
Collaboration Projects - Outsourcing
The EuroEspes Group seeks to consolidate its position as one of Spain's leading companies in scientific research applied to health biotechnology.
It is currently a leading company in the development of innovative products and services in the scientific field for diagnostics, health, and human nutrition.
Freeze-drying is the innovative technology that distinguishes and characterises our nutraceuticals. It is an ideal method for guaranteeing the active ingredients, bioactive properties, and organoleptic stability of foods while maintaining the efficacy and bio-functionality of the nutrients. This technology stabilises, concentrates, and increases the shelf life of these products without destroying or denaturing their biochemical structure.
The development of bioactive compounds from the screening of multiple compounds of natural origin, obtained from plant, animal, and marine sources, by means of non-denaturing biotechnological processes using proprietary technology, is one of the most important demands in the nutraceutical sector in Europe. Different extracts of natural origin have been developed over the last few years by the EuroEspes group scientific team, mainly of marine origin, which have demonstrated in pre-clinical and clinical scientific studies their biological activity and their beneficial properties for maintaining health and preventing the most prevalent pathologies affecting our society: cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, neurodegenerative and cancer conditions.
Outsourcing Preclinical Experimental Trials
External services and partnerships
The Euroespes Group's preclinical research team develops the best system for testing the effectiveness and toxicity of drugs, nutraceuticals, and bioproducts in cellular and animal models of various pathologies. We have excellent models for testing the safety and efficacy of new drugs that are designed or developed.
Successful R&D&I projects
2010-14 MAREX: Characterisation of biofunctional algae at European level (EU FP7).
2013-15 HOLOGAL: Development of a bioproduct based on Holoturia (CDTI).
2017-19 NutriCOA: Cocoa-based bioproduct development (CDTI).
The results of this research have been published in books and scientific journals, and have been presented in different international forums with more than 1,600 scientific contributions, and more than 150 research projects.
Strengths
- Research and development of nutraceuticals and other innovative bioproducts of marine and plant origin with scientific support.
- Characterisation of predictive markers to identify the risk of suffering from diseases associated with dietary deficiencies.
- Identification of the effect of bioproducts on predictive epigenetics.
- Development of individualised therapeutic strategies, based on pharmacogenetic principles.
- Characterisation of nutrigenomics principles to tailor human diets to optimal genome conditions and to serve as a basis for preventive programmes to avoid endogenous and environmental diseases.