25|02|2010

Biopharmaceutical company Celgene to invest 45 million in an advanced therapy and regenerative medicine research center in Seville

US biopharmaceutical company, Celgene, a specialist in bio-health R&D and Innovation, is to invest 45 million euros in advanced therapies and regenerative medicine over the next three years at the Celgene Institute of Traslational Research Europe (CITRE), premises located in the Italian Pavilion of the Cartuja 93 Science and Technology Park in Seville, which will employ a minimum of 30 high-level scientific-technical specialists from Spain and the rest of the world.

During the presentation of the new project in Seville on the 24th of February, the Managing Director of Celgene Corporation, Sol J. Barer, announced that the center would be the company’s first in Europe, since its other three existing branches are all in the United States.

He went on to explain that the CITRE would begin work this year, but would not be fully operational until 2012. In addition to contributing to the creation of between 30 and 40 highly qualified jobs, the company is making plans for a second phase that would raise the number to 70 specialists. The recruitment of professionals is scheduled to begin in April.

As for its structure, he explained the company would be constituted as Spanish with private US capital, and would focus activities on translational research into new medicines for the treatment of cancer and rare diseases.

He described the main objective as ensuring advances made in the laboratory reach patients in need, in a personalized manner and as soon as possible; “in other words, for basic and clinical research to join forces".

750 square meters of space will be available in the CITRE building itself divided over two floors to house five departments: the tumor bio-bank, bio-computing, epigenetics, placental stem cells and cellular signaling.

The scientific activity to be undertaken in the building will include cellular cultures, cytometry, electronic microscopy, genomics and proteomics, all carried out in conjunction with a Central Unit for Traslational Medical Research, which will coordinate and direct all of Celgene’s medical research in Europe.
The goal of all the above is for scientific advances to be made available as fast as possible, essentially to Andalusian patients.

The Health Minister, Trinidad Jiménez, in attendance at the presentation, lauded the “huge effort” and “strong commitment” made by the Andalusian region in this field, and reminded those present of the 70 million euros invested by the central government in advanced therapies in 2009.