Bial (Portela e C.ª, S.A.) is a

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field an ...

company headquartered in São Mamede do Coronado, in

Trofa Trofa () is a municipality in the north of the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, 18 km from central Porto. The population in 2011 was 38,999, in an area of 72.02 km². Trofa has a strong industrial park, with various types of industry ...

Porto district The District of Porto ( pt, Distrito do Porto ) is located on the north-west coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Porto, the second largest city in the country. It is bordered by the Aveiro and Viseu districts to the south, Br ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. It was founded in 1924, being among the largest companies of its kind in Portugal. Its products are sold in pharmacies in more than 58 countries in 4 continents: Europe, America, Africa and Asia.

Financing

On 21 September 2015, the European Investment Bank signed a EUR 45 million financing agreement for Bial's R&D over the next 3 years. It was directed to "discover, develop and provide therapeutic solutions in ..three major areas of research: central nervous system (CNS), cardiology and allergen immunotherapy". The EIB found Bial not to have the status of a contracting entity, and therefore Bial has not been subject to EU rules on public procurement.

Research and products

In 2008, Bial completed clinical evaluation of

eslicarbazepine acetate Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL), sold under the brand names Aptiom and Zebinix among others, is an anticonvulsant medication approved for use in Europe and the United States as monotherapy or as additional therapy for partial-onset seizures epileps ...

, a drug for the adjunctive use in partial seizures in adults with

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrica ...

. The Japanese company

Eisai was a Japanese Buddhist priest, credited with founding the Rinzai school, the Japanese line of the Linji school of Zen Buddhism. In 1191, he introduced this Zen approach to Japan, following his trip to China from 1187 to 1191, during which he w ...

gained the sole license to market, promote and distribute it as Zebinix or Exalief in Europe. In America it is marketed by Sunovion under the name Aptiom. Its use in epilepsy treatment in children is under development. A clinical trial of eslicarbazepine acetate as therapy in persons with diabetic neuropathic pain was prematurely halted. Etamicastat (BIA 5–453) is a dopamine-β-hydroxylase inhibitor decreasing

norepinephrine Norepinephrine (NE), also called noradrenaline (NA) or noradrenalin, is an organic chemical in the catecholamine family that functions in the brain and body as both a hormone and neurotransmitter. The name "noradrenaline" (from Latin '' ad' ...

levels in peripheral sympathetically innervated tissues, without effect in brain tissues of spontaneously hypertensive rats. BIA 5-1058 is another reversible

dopamine beta-hydroxylase Dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), also known as dopamine beta-monooxygenase, is an enzyme () that in humans is encoded by the DBH gene. Dopamine beta-hydroxylase catalyzes the conversion of dopamine to norepinephrine. The three substrates of ...

inhibitor which decreases norepinephrine levels in peripheral sympathetically innervated tissues, without CNS effects.

Opicapone Opicapone, sold under the brand name Ongentys, is a medication which is administered together with levodopa in people with Parkinson's disease. Opicapone is a catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor. The most common side effects are dys ...

(BIA 9-1067), Bial's second pharmaceutical, is a

COMT inhibitor A catechol-''O''-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor is a drug that inhibits the enzyme catechol-''O''-methyltransferase. This enzyme methylates catecholamines such as dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine. It also methylates levodopa. COMT in ...

for the treatment of Parkinson disease, It is under review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). On 9 September 2015, Bial entered into an agreement with the Helsinn Group for the exclusive distribution and license rights to the Helsinn Group's drug anamorelin in Spain, Portugal, Angola and Mozambique. In 2015, Bial commissioned a contract research organization Biotrial to run a phase one

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, diet ...

for

BIA 10-2474 BIA 10-2474 is an experimental fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor developed by the Portuguese pharmaceutical company Bial-Portela & Ca. SA. It interacts with the human endocannabinoid system. The drug was in development for the treatment of ...

, an FAAH inhibitor that targets the

endocannabinoid system The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a biological system composed of endocannabinoids, which are endogenous lipid-based retrograde neurotransmitters that bind to cannabinoid receptors (CBRs), and cannabinoid receptor proteins that are expressed ...

. The research in Rennes commenced in July 2015, evaluating male and female subjects aged between 18 and 55 years old receiving a single dose. On 7 January 2016, a trial involving multiple doses was started on six non-placebo subjects. The first patient receiving the multiple doses was hospitalized at

Rennes University Hospital The Rennes University Hospital (french: link=no, Centre hospitalier universitaire de Rennes or CHU Rennes) is a university hospital in Rennes in France. It employs 7,700 people

on 10 January, leading Biotrial to suspend the study on 11 January. Five patients were hospitalized, with the first one receiving the multiple dose becoming brain dead.

References

External links

Bial
{{Authority control Pharmaceutical companies of Portugal Portuguese brands Pharmaceutical companies established in 1924 1924 establishments in Portugal