November 2007

The candidature of this company, participated in by Sodena, was presented by the Government of Navarre through the publicly-owned company Centro Europeo de Empresas e Innovación de Navarra (CEIN).

The Navarre-based company Idifarma Desarrollo Farmacéutico S.L. (Idifarma) has received a special prize in the “Best Trajectory for a Technology-Based Innovative Company (EIBT)” category in the first edition of the Prizes for the Creation and Consolidation of Technology-Based Innovative Companies awarded by the Spanish National Association of European Business and Innovation Centres (ANCES) in conjunction with the SME Section of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce.

The prize sets out to foster the creation and consolidation of companies based on technological innovation. Idifarma, whose candidature was presented by the Government of Navarre through CEIN, is the first company in Spain to specialise in outsourcing R&D work in development (to obtain formulae and production methods for drugs) and analysis for the pharmaceutical sector.

Set up in 2001 with help from the Government of Navarre through its venture capital company Start Up, Idifarma's work focuses on research, development and the manufacture of drugs. This is backed up by a wide range of services: quality control and analysis services for sector manufacturers that do not have quality control laboratories, comparative studies on products and their stability, and registration documentation procedures.

Idifarma started off with three people: now it has a team of 48 researchers and technicians. The company, which operates across Europe, has seven of its own drugs at different stages of development, some of which have already been licensed to other companies.

Among its expansion plans is the transfer of its facility from the Innovative Company Seedbed of CEIN, where it has been based since its creation, to a new 3,500 m2 building with capacity for 100 researchers. Idifarma has also generated another innovative business project: the biotech company 3P Biopharmaceuticals, S.L., which produces proteins for use in medical treatments.

The prize-giving ceremony was held on 25th October 2007 in Ciudad Real as part of the 1s National Seminar of Experts from European Business and Innovation Centres. It was presided over by María Callejón, head of policy on SMEs of the Spanish Ministry of Industry. The company Dropsens (Asturias) won the first prize in the “Creation of technology-based companies” category while Siliken (Valencia) won the first prize in the “Best Business Trajectory” consolidation category.

A total of 21 candidatures were presented from among the European Business and Innovation Centres that make up the ANCES network.