Box 2. Case study: COINFAR

COINFAR, or Consórcio da Indústria Farmacêutica, is a joint venture that was launched in 2001 as a result of collaboration between three Brazilian pharmaceutical companies: Biosintética (now part of Aché), Biolab and União Química. The company's business model is to focus on the discovery and development of drugs until clinical phase 1 or phase 2 and then license them out for further development. COINFAR has a team of six scientists, who coordinate the company's R&D activities carried out by 20 investigators in various Brazilian universities and institutes.

Together with the technology-transfer initiative of the Centre for Applied Toxicology (CAT) at the Butantan Institute, COINFAR is helping to develop two new drugs, which are currently undergoing preclinical studies: an endogenous vasopeptidase inhibitor (EVASIN), a type of anti-hypertensive derived from Bothrops jararaca venom, and an analgesic for chronic, neuropathic pain, also originating from snake venom. Other projects include investigations into toxin-based drugs for such indications as blood clotting, pain perception and immune suppression, all of which are at the pre-clinical stage. Another lead compound is a recombinant protein from tick saliva, which has shown to be active against melanoma. The company already has over 8 granted patents and has 36 patent applications pending approval, the majority of which are in the United States, Europe, Japan, India and China.

Since its inception, COINFAR has had significant investments from both public and private sources. From 2002 to 2006, the company received $6 million from its shareholders; between 2005 and 2006, it received $2 million in government funding for joint projects with universities. Plans are in the works to invest a further $1.6 million on prospecting activities for new molecules in the coming year; the company has numerous partnerships with various universities and is expanding its efforts to forge further collaborations both in Brazil and abroad, including plans to start an affiliate company in the United States in 2008.