onepharm

onepharm was a small Austrian biopharmaceutical company created in 2005 to separate the drug-development activities of AVIR Green Hills Biotechnology from its parent’s vaccine-focused business. The company was established in July 2005 and became operational in September of that year. Its formation followed AVIR’s decision to concentrate on vaccine development while placing its broader pharmaceutical research in a separate venture-financed organization. Initial support came through two Austria Wirtschaftsservice credit programs, and the company was subsequently backed by public and private-oriented research funding. The company’s early research centered on glycyrrhizin, the principal pharmacologically active compound in liquorice, and on chemically related derivatives. onepharm investigated the compound as a potential basis for antiviral medicines, including treatments for influenza and possibly other viral infections. One of its best-known early projects was Elivir, a proposed antiviral nasal spray for the common cold. The project entered preclinical development and was expected to progress toward clinical testing and licensing, but later reporting indicated no meaningful further development and it is generally regarded as discontinued. onepharm’s scientific work was conducted with academic and research partners in Vienna. A collaboration known as the Antiviral Spot of Excellence involved the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna and the Vienna University of Technology. The partnership supported the creation and testing of libraries of glycyrrhizin derivatives. In early 2006, the company received EUR 2.7 million from the Vienna Business Agency’s Center for Innovation and Technology for collaborative research. In November 2007, it entered an exclusive strategic cooperation agreement with Japan’s Minophagen Pharmaceutical, a major supplier and marketer of glycyrrhizin-based pharmaceutical products. By that period, onepharm had also obtained additional financing and had moved its operations to a science-park environment associated with the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. The company’s strategic direction changed as its research generated evidence for a non-antiviral application. By mid-2008, onepharm had raised approximately EUR 8 million in total financing and was developing OPM-3023 for periodontitis. The compound was intended to inhibit inflammation-associated periodontal bone loss, and it had shown activity in a rat model. onepharm established a collaboration with The Forsyth Institute, a prominent dental research organization, and pursued a microsphere-based controlled-release formulation. German health authorities approved a Phase II clinical study of OPM-3023 for periodontitis, with commencement planned for 2010. In October 2009, onepharm decided to focus exclusively on OPM-3023 and periodontitis. Its antiviral research was transferred to Savira Pharmaceuticals GmbH, a newly created subsidiary established with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and supported by EUR 1 million from Austria Wirtschaftsservice. Oliver Szolar, previously onepharm’s chief science officer, became Savira’s chief executive. This transaction marked the separation of onepharm’s original antiviral program from its periodontology strategy. Publicly available reference material provides limited information about onepharm after this transition, including its later corporate status, commercial launches, ownership, and operating activity; these details therefore remain unconfirmed.

onepharm originated within AVIR Green Hills Biotechnology, an Austrian company that elected to focus its own activities on vaccine development. To divest its drug-development business, AVIR helped establish onepharm in July 2005. The new company began operations in September 2005 and received initial backing through Austria Wirtschaftsservice credit programs. Bernhard Küenburg, formerly a senior marketing, sales, and development executive at Siegfried, became chief executive, while Otto Dobblhoff-Dier, a bioprocess-engineering professor and former global manufacturing executive at Igeneon, became chief operating officer. The company initially pursued antiviral medicine based on glycyrrhizin, a liquorice-derived triterpene glycoside. Research examined the pharmacological properties of glycyrrhizin and derivatives, including possible applications against influenza, the common cold, and other viral infections. The Elivir program proposed an antiviral nasal spray for the common cold. It reached preclinical development, but anticipated later-stage progress and licensing did not materialize in the available record. onepharm worked with Vienna-based academic institutions through the Antiviral Spot of Excellence, a collaborative research structure involving the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna and the Vienna University of Technology. The collaboration supported compound-library construction and biological testing. In early 2006, onepharm received EUR 2.7 million from the Vienna Business Agency’s Center for Innovation and Technology. In November 2007, it entered an exclusive strategic relationship with Minophagen Pharmaceutical of Japan, which had expertise in pharmaceutical-grade glycyrrhizin and glycyrrhizin-based products. During this period, onepharm also moved its operations to a science-park setting connected with the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. By 2008, the company was redirecting its resources toward periodontitis. Its lead compound, OPM-3023, was intended to reduce inflammation-induced periodontal bone loss and had produced positive findings in a rat model. onepharm collaborated with The Forsyth Institute on dental research and worked on a microsphere formulation designed to provide controlled release. German authorities approved a Phase II study, planned for 2010. The company reported total financing of approximately EUR 8 million by the middle of 2008. In October 2009, onepharm formally chose to concentrate on OPM-3023 and periodontology. Its antiviral work was separated into Savira Pharmaceuticals GmbH, created in cooperation with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and supported by Austria Wirtschaftsservice. Oliver Szolar, onepharm’s former chief science officer, became Savira’s chief executive. The available reference material does not establish whether onepharm ultimately commercialized a product, continued operating under the same name, or underwent a later corporate change.

• 2009

  Savira Pharmaceuticals created

  [1]Onepharmen.wikipedia.org

  onepharm transferred its antiviral activities to Savira Pharmaceuticals and retained a focused periodontitis strategy.

• 2008

  Periodontitis program becomes central

  [1]Onepharmen.wikipedia.org

  OPM-3023 emerged as the company’s principal development candidate after animal-model evidence involving periodontal bone loss.

• 2007

  Minophagen cooperation established

  [1]Onepharmen.wikipedia.org

  onepharm finalized an exclusive strategic cooperation agreement with Japan’s Minophagen Pharmaceutical.

• 2006

  Vienna research grant awarded

  [1]Onepharmen.wikipedia.org

  The company obtained EUR 2.7 million from the Vienna Business Agency’s Center for Innovation and Technology for research with Vienna universities.

• 2005

  Company founded

  [1]Onepharmen.wikipedia.org

  onepharm was founded in July and became operational in September as a separate vehicle for AVIR Green Hills Biotechnology’s drug-development activities.

Research-driven biopharmaceutical developer focused on translating glycyrrhizin-based pharmacology into therapies for viral disease and periodontal inflammation.

• Periodontitis drug candidate

  OPM-3023

  OPM-3023 was onepharm’s principal later-stage research program. The compound was designed to inhibit inflammation-associated periodontal bone loss, a mechanism relevant to periodontitis. Supporting activity had been observed in a rat model, and the company pursued a microsphere-based controlled-release formulation. German health authorities approved a Phase II clinical study, planned for 2010, but the available reference material does not confirm subsequent clinical results, approval, or commercialization.

• Antiviral nasal spray candidate

  Elivir

  Elivir was an early onepharm project aimed at an antiviral nasal spray for the common cold. It was in preclinical development in 2006, with plans for further clinical development and potential out-licensing. No later progress is documented in the supplied reference material, and the program is generally described as having been discontinued.

• 2009

  Concentrate the company on periodontitisStrategy

  Background

  onepharm had developed both antiviral research and a newer periodontal program based on OPM-3023.

  Action taken

  The company decided to focus exclusively on OPM-3023 for periodontitis and transfer its antiviral activities to newly established Savira Pharmaceuticals GmbH.

  Aftermath

  The transaction separated onepharm’s original antiviral research from its periodontology-focused development strategy. The later outcome of OPM-3023 is not established by the available sources.

  Austria Wirtschaftsservice funding for Savira. EUR 1 million (2009)

  Source

1. 1Onepharmen.wikipedia.org