Two chemists who founded Sanifit: “Biotech entrepreneurship isn’t a sprint. It’s an ultramarathon”
Two chemists, when they had barely turned 25, set up a spin-off of the University of the Balearic Islands that has just been acquired by Vifor Pharma in the biggest biotechnology operation in Spain. Joan Perelló, CEO of the company, tells us the story from the beginning
In the photo: Bernat Isern (left) and Joan Perelló (right).
Chemists Joan Perelló and Bernat Isern met in school, found each other again at the University of the Balearic Islands and 17 years ago started a biotechnology company together to develop a drug for calcification disorders. Our body naturally deposits calcium to create solid structures, such as bones and teeth. However, when it gets deposited in other places in the body, it leads to a rare pathology that can be deadly. And those rare diseases attracted the attention of these two friends.
This year, the company took a giant leap, never before seen in the history of Spanish biotechnology. Vifor Pharma acquired the company and invested €375 million to bring the idea that Joan and Bernat came up with in 2004, before they had even defended their theses, to the market, so it can improve the lives of thousands of patients.
Sanifit currently has a team of 25 in Palma de Mallorca and the United States. The company is developing an experimental drug called SNF472 to treat two lethal cardiorenal conditions caused by the calcification of blood vessels. Currently, the most advanced study is in phase III trials to treat calciphylaxis, which affects roughly 5,000 patients in Europe and an additional 5,000 in the United States, where Sanifit is also active.
The company’s main goal, and the reason it caught Vifor’s eye, is to extend use of the drug to other diseases. In mid-2022, they hope to begin a phase II study to see if this innovative drug can treat peripheral arterial disease, found in more than 350,000 patients on dialysis, and this is where the deal with Viafor will play a key role. “It’s a little-known disease and there are no drugs today to treat it. We’re opening up a new path,” the entrepreneur says.
How was this possible? How did it all get started? The history of Sanifit goes back to an innovation contest in 2003, with a prize of €30,000. The only condition to win: start a company. “Imagine... two chemists with no clue about business plans before starting all this,” the company CEO remembers those times with a smile. The two friends entered the contest at a time when innovation wasn’t so much on the tip of everyone’s tongue. The idea had come from a research group at their university, which was granted the first of its patents to the intellectual property they had created. They won the prize and set up Sanifit.
They kept growing, doing research into other little-known diseases and their effects on patients, until they reached a phase III clinical trial, fully funded and with advanced execution. “We hope to have data in 2022 and be able to apply for commercialization from the FDA and EMA in 2023,” the expert explains. But the two entrepreneurs also had another idea in mind: to find funding for a second line of research that would deal with peripheral arterial disease, making them pioneers in the field, as no studies have ever been done on this topic in all the history of biomedicine. “Opening the way for more solutions is one of our main goals. We’ve seen that there are over 35 diseases related to calcifications and many are unmet needs... we still have a lot of work to do and we’re motivated by the thought that our drug could be used to treat them,” explains Perelló.
With this in mind, they started “knocking on doors”, from looking for private investment to considering taking on a new partner. One of those doors was Vifor Pharma, which went even further and suggested a global deal. “They wanted all the technology and the company,” Sanifit CEO added.
But everything wasn’t that easy. What they required in the beginning was a solid ecosystem with venture capital funds like there are today. The first organisation that took a chance on them was La Caixa and Sanifit was the bank’s first investment in the life sciences. “But there weren’t any others. No Ysios or Alta Life Science…,” he explains. Plus, they needed a reference, an entrepreneur to be able to speak with, to share their experience and give them advice on which steps to take. “The sector is young, but we’re growing and reaching a point of maturity and consolidation. Entrepreneurs today are much more prepared and have many more opportunities and options,” he says.
What tips would you give 25-year-olds today who want to set up a biotech company? Knowing what he does today, Perelló is convinced that it is easier now because the ecosystem already exists. “There are several options to get a first round of funding, which is always the hardest...” This entrepreneur believes that good science and the right training are the most important aspects: being a ‘microexpert’, as he says, in a field and advancing with a very clear plan. “In our sector, it isn’t a sprint. It’s an ultramarathon. Even with all the funding in the world, it’s a roller coaster of constant ups and downs. You have to know that, just as you’re not the king of the world when you’re on an upswing, the downswings aren’t the end of the world either,” he advises. The scientist insists that to be an entrepreneur in biotech, resilience is the most important thing you need to ride out the curves and clashes.
When he looks back on those years in school and sees himself now having closed the biggest operation in the history of Spanish biotech, Perelló can’t explain how he feels or his reaction. “I don’t even know if it has really sunk in yet,” he concludes with a smile.
By Agathe Cortes