Ability Pharmaceuticals, a partner company of CataloniaBio, has announced the orphan drug designation (ODD) granted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for ABTL0812, for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

The EMA orphan drug designation programme grants a special status to biological drugs and products aimed at diagnosing, treating, or preventing rare conditions that affect at least 5 in every 10,000 people in the European Union. This milestone follows the ODD the company received for pancreatic cancer granted by the FDA (USA) in 2016, and the ODD for childhood neuroblastoma granted by the EMA and the FDA in 2015.

ABTL0812 is currently in Phase II as a first-line treatment in combination with chemotherapy in patients with squamous lung cancer endometrial cancer at the Vall d´Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) in Barcelona, the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), INCLIVA (Valencia) and the University Hospital Virgen del Rocío in Seville. The study will also include leading oncology centres in France.

Ability Pharmaceuticals is one of the companies fighting against cancer, and received coverage in Catalan newspaper Ara. 

More information on the Ability Pharmaceuticals website.

Photo: Carles Domènech, CEO and Co-founder © Ability Pharma