Rhenovia Pharma, a biotech company specialized in the development and optimization of treatments for Alzheimer’s and other diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems, announced that it has received confirmation as a world leader in the field of biosimulation for research into drugs for treating diseases of the central nervous system from the “Global Biosimulation Technology Market (2012-2017)” study by the independent company MarketsandMarkets (USA).
The recognition of Rhenovia’s global leadership crowns the first phase of the development plan for the company, which will now accelerate its growth. After the first round of seed funding of Euro 350,000 in 2009, Rhenovia is preparing a second round of investment to support its development and reinforce its position as world leader. The company plans to recruit around 20 new employees in France over the next five years.
Rhenovia also plans to accelerate its international development by strengthening its American subsidiary, founded in Boston in 2012, where it plans to hire around ten new employees. The company also intends to create new direct operations or partnerships in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
“We are delighted to have received this recognition from MarketsandMarkets of our status as leader in the field of biosimulation for the central nervous system (CNS). Today, biosimulation is an indispensable technology within the pharmaceutical industry and Rhenovia is becoming the preferred partner, with its ability to support all market participants by providing services or research and development partnerships,” said Dr. Serge Bischoff, CEO of Rhenovia. “The results of this study have provided further encouragement to us in continuing to develop this promising technology, which can not only be used in numerous areas of human healthcare, but also in the food and defense industries. The founders, the employees and even the shareholders of Rhenovia are driven by strongly shared passion and ethics, placing people at the heart of the company’s development strategy.”
Rhenovia has developed a unique modeling technology, which makes it possible to reproduce on a computer the cellular and molecular mechanisms of the brain and nervous transmission. The company uses its technology to create computer simulations of the condition of healthy patients or patients affected by pathologies of the nervous system, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, schizophrenia or depression. These simulations are used to predict the efficacy and toxicity of molecules and combinations of molecules, without having to resort to lengthy and expensive in vitro/in vivo experiments.
Within the context of services and R&D partnerships, Rhenovia’s bioinformatics simulations allow biotech and pharma companies to shorten the development time for new drugs, whilst also reducing risks and costs. They also aim to anticipate any lack of efficacy or side effects within the products tested and thus to support health authorities in their preclinical and clinical authorization decisions.
The global market for biosimulation in drug R&D is estimated to be US$ 432 million and is expected to reach US$ 1.2 billion by 2017, thanks to an annual growth of 18.5 per cent. Biosimulation used in the preclinical and clinical phases represents 60 per cent of the total market (2011 figures – says MarketsandMarkets study).
“Biosimulation is expected to progress significantly over the next ten years, under the impetus of advances in the fields of systems biology and computational biology,” said the analyst in charge of the study at MarketsandMarkets. “Pharma companies have now realized the importance of biosimulation in relation to other technologies, from the perspective of R&D that is increasingly based on translational research.”