AlmirallShare is responsible for 50% of the private-public collaborations of Almirall

Barcelona, Spain, December 17^th, 2019

AlmirallShare, the open innovation platform of Almirall, S.A. (ALM), is responsible for around 50% of the private-public collaborations driven by Almirall. Since its launch in 2017, more than 850 scientists have shown interest in participating and nearly 350 proposals have been received. Currently, there are six projects ongoing including new collaborations with the School of Biotechnology of Dublin City University, the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), EvoBiotech (spin-off from the University of Turin) and the Université de Namur. Additionally, three new collaborative projects are expected to start very soon.

The main objective of AlmirallShare is to facilitate the establishment of collaborations in dermatological research and find innovative solutions for skin health. By putting together the science and creativity of experts around the world and Almirall’s own expertise, AlmirallShare accelerates the generation of new treatments for skin conditions.

“We are very pleased with the results that AlmirallShare has achieved so far. We created this platform with the aim to reach researchers worldwide and establish close successful partnerships with them. Together, we will bring major breakthroughs in the field of medical dermatology and add real value to patients living with severe skin conditions” said Dr. Bhushan Hardas, Executive Vice President R&D, Chief Scientific Officer of Almirall.

AlmirallShare was launched in 2017 as an R&D platform designed to interact with different reference centres in dermatology and advance breakthrough research in this field, offering funding and scientific support to the selected proposals. "We are very excited about the response that this innovation platform has had among the scientific community around the world. AlmirallShare has become an important tool to implement strategic collaborations in Almirall R&D," has concluded Maribel Crespo, AlmirallShare’s leader.

Four new collaboration projects in 2019

• The collaborative project lead by Dr. M. Freeley and Dr. P. Leonard from the School of Biotechnology of Dublin City University aims to identify novel therapeutic targets on skin-homing T-cells that could be of use for the identification of new treatments for inflammatory skin disorders, such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.
• The Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), through his Principal Investigator Prof. F. Lozano from the immune receptors of the innate and adaptative system group, will work in cooperation with Almirall to analyse the immunomodulatory properties of soluble human CD6 (shCD6) in experimental models of inflammatory skin diseases.
• The partnership with EvoBiotech, a spin-off of the University of Turin lead by Prof. Dr. G. Camussi will assess the use of therapeutic activity of extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on atopic dermatitis.
• Researchers led by Prof. Y. Poumay from the Namur Research Institute for Life Sciences (Narilis) at the University of Namur (Belgium) are exploring the involvement of novel receptors and signaling pathways in the phenotypic alterations of keratinocytes in atopic dermatitis, investigating their potential relevance for this disease and treatments.

AlmirallShare. Bringing Science and creativity together

AlmirallShare was launched in 2017 as an open innovation R&D platform designed to facilitate the establishment of collaborations in dermatological research and find innovative solutions in medical dermatology. By putting together the science and creativity of experts around the world and Almirall’s own expertise, the AlmirallShare initiative accelerates the generation of new treatments for skin conditions. The main objectives of this project are to open up the innovation process to foster collaboration projects with partners worldwide, to share opportunities and knowledge with the scientific community in a structured, agile, and transparent manner, as well as to identify innovative solutions to dermatological needs and challenges. AlmirallShare aims to reach out to scientists at universities, public or private research institutions, hospitals, start-ups, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to address challenges such as the identification of therapeutic targets and experimental disease models, the development of new therapeutic treatments as well as novel technologies in dermatology. Almirall converts these challenges into Calls for Proposals (CFPs) that are then published in sharedinnovation.almirall.com

About Almirall

Almirall is a leading skin-health focused global pharmaceutical company that partners with healthcare professionals, applying Science to provide medical solutions to patients and future generations. Our efforts are focused on fighting against skin health diseases and helping people feel and look their best. We support healthcare professionals by continuous improvement, bringing our innovative solutions where they are needed.

The company, founded 75 years ago with headquarters in Barcelona, is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange (ticker: ALM). Almirall has been key in value creation to society according to its commitment with to major shareholders and through its decision to help others, to understand their challenges and to use Science to provide solutions for real life. Total revenues in 2018 were 811 million euros. More than 1,800 employees are devoted to Science.

For more information, please visit almirall.com