2008
January
NEST statute homologation by the Ministry of Economy and Innovation and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education.
Press coverage on BIOALVO at Sociedade Civil television show, broadcasted by RTP2.
Interview to Luís Amado at Mais Cedo ou Mais Tarde radio programme, transmitted by TSF.
Participation at Sociedade Civil television show, broadcasted by RTP2.
Participation at “ADME, PK/TK and Drug Metabolism in D3” training course, Brussels.
Participation at “Predictive Human Toxicity and ADME Tox Studies” conference, Brussels.
Participation at the congress Bioeconomia III, promoted by the Portuguese Association of Biologists.
Press coverage on BIOALVO transmitted by TVCiência.
February
Physical growth of BIOALVO’S structure with a new office for Business Development and Finance.
Presentation on BIOALVO’S Intellectual Property management at a workshop organized by PLMJ and APBio.
Lunch on “ Celebrating and Supporting Portuguese Business in the UK”, at the British Embassy, Lisbon.
Participation at the “2008 Drug Discovery for Neurodegeneration Conference”, Washington D.C.
March
Inauguration of the fluorescence microscopy laboratory.
Participation at the breakfast on “Evaluation of Tangible Assets” promoted by Clarke, Modet & Cº.
Article “Biotecnologia é a solução mais provável para a inovação no sector farmacêutico”, referring BIOALVO at Jornal de Negócios.
Article “Bioeconomia quer capital de risco especializado”, referring BIOALVO at Expresso.
Participation at the “Developability Assessment: The logical approach to drug lead selection” training course, Brussels.
First results on PharmaBUG Programme.
April
Licensing agreement for the BLV2007 molecules with University of Lisbon.
Participation at the “BIO-Europe Spring”, Madrid.
Interview with Helena Vieira for Canal BQ magazine.
Submission of the patent for the PAIN programme.
Submission of the patent for the TAU programme.
Lecture on entrepreneurship presented by BIOALVO’S CEO at the PAPS conference, Boston
Toxicity results on TAU / PAIN programme.
Morphine and ibuprofen comparative results and formalin assay for PAIN programme.
May
Lecture on “Biology Paths” presented by BIOALVO’S CEO at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon.
Approval of the project D3B – Drug Discovery and Development @ BIOALVO, submitted to Sistemas de Incentivos ao Investimento das Empresas no QREN – SI ID&T, at individual projects category.
Participation at the debate panel on “Companies financing politics” within the Encontros para a Competitividade of the Bio Week organized by IAPMEI and APBio.
“BIOALVO as case of success” presentation at Bioentrepeneurship course of FCT/UNL Biotechnology Master.
Innovation and IP, presentation at 1st Portuguese IP Conference.
Participation at the “Drug Development for Neurodegenerative Therapeutics” conference, Amsterdam.
Contract with SYNOVO and beginning of collaboration.
Oral administration efficacy results on TAU / PAIN programme.
June
Participation at the debate panel on biotechnology at FIEL 2008.
Article “Keep it Simplyeast” at BIO Show Daily journal.
Article “Semana da Biotecnologia em Coimbra e Los Angeles”, referring BIOALVO at Expresso.
Participation at BIO2008 International Convention, San Diego, California.
Participation at the celebrations of the anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, promoted by the British Embassy.
Participation at the event “Entrepreneurship: Portugal vs. Europe” organized by the Fórum para a Competitividade/SEDES.
Contract with CEREP.
Identification of seven best series of molecules on IDO programme.
July
Participation at the celebrations of Canada’s Day, promoted by the Embassy of Canada.
Participation at ICAD – International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, Chicago.
Conclusion of BIOALVO’S valuation report, by Venture Valuation AG.
Conclusion of BIOALVO’S valuation report, by 2BIO Ltd.
August
Selection of five series of molecules on IDO Programme.
September
First Advisory Board meeting at BIOALVO.
Participation at BIO-Spain 2008 meeting, Granada.
Report about BIOALVO in Made in Portugal radio programme, transmitted by TSF.
October
Signature of protocol with MIT Portugal.
European Commission’s recommendation for financing of the project PEP2BRAIN, a consortium between the Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM), BIOALVO, University of Girona, SYNOVO GmbH and the Tübingen University, within the edge of Marie Curie actions from the 7th Framework Programme “Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways – IAPP”.
Selection of the best four series of molecules on IDO programme.
C-Fos efficacy assay results for PAIN programme.
November
Article “BIOALVO prepara-se para triplicar capital com entrada de investidores privados” at Jornal de Negócios.
Participation at BioEurope 2008, Mannheim, Germany.
Publication of the International Patent Request concerning the technological platform of BIOALVO PCT/PT2007/0000051.
Participation at Mostra Portugal Tecnológico 2008, Lisbon.
Selection of the best two series of molecules on IDO programme.
SNI efficacy assay results for PAIN programme.
December
Participation ate the World Drug Discovery Summit 2008, Prague.
SME status homologation by EMEA (European Medicines Evaluation Agency).
European Commission’s recommendation for financing of the project NEURASYNC, in partnership with the Universities of Eberhard Karls (Germany), Aarhus (Denmark), Lunds (Sweden) and Lancaster (UK), the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (Greece), the Institute of Molecular Medicine (Portugal), the Farfield Group Ltd. (UK), Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co (Germany) and Max Plank Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Germany), within Marie Curie actions of the 7th Framework.
Programme “Initial Training Networks – ITN”.
Participation at the “Biotechnology Business Exchange” conference, UK.
Participation at the “Genesis” conference, UK.
BIOALVO’s Christmas gathering, Lisbon.
2007
January
Approval of financing program “Insertion of Masters and Doctors in companies”, from AdI, € 113.000.
February
Luís Amado joins the company as Vice-President and Chief Business Development Officer.
Publication of article “From scientist to manager” in magazine Exame, with references to BIOALVO.
Invitation by the Commercial Advisor to attend at a networking reception organized by the Embassy of Canada that took place at Hotel Regency in Lisbon.
March
Approval of financing program nitec, from AdI, in the amount of € 300.000.
Conclusion of the application DISAGGREGATOR I–TAU.
Lunch at the Embassy of United Kingdom in Lisbon to discuss cooperation opportunities with British companies and potential opening of international offices.
Participation in the business mission to Czech Republic and Poland, under the scope of the programme Pharma Portugal.
Presentation of BIOALVO at the Journeys of Chemistry Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon.
Publication of article “BIOALVO: venture investment with promising future”, in Semanário Económico.
April
Presentation of BIOALVO’S case study at the Journeys of Entrepreneurship in Health, organized by the University of Beira Interior, Covilhã.
Participation at the seminar “Private Investment and Entrepreneurship” at FLAD’S auditorium.
May
Presence at BIO 2007: representation at the first national pavilion; first Portuguese company with an article (“BIOALVO continues the tradition: Portuguese discoveries of new worlds”) published in bio Show Daily (BIO INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION Journal).
Presentation by BIOALVO’S ceo at the Seminar “BioTech in Portugal”, at the MIT, organized by PAPS – Portuguese-American Post-Graduate Society and ICEP’S Office in San Francisco in collaboration with the Portuguese Consulate in Boston.
Publication of article “Biotecnol and BIOALVO invest in Africa to reach the Indian market” in Diário Económico.
Presentation of BIOALVO at the Journeys of Entrepreneurship organized by the University of Évora.
June
Submission of a patent protecting BIOALVO’S technology platform.
Beginning of DISAGGREGATOR I–TAU screening campaign.
Presentation at the 1st Meeting of uk’s postgraduation students, Cambridge, uk.
Publication of article “Scientists in the uk discuss returning to Portugal” in Diário de Notícias with reference to BIOALVO.
Meeting with the Embassy of South Africa and the ceo of the technology transfer centre of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN Innovation Co.) aiming at the establishment of partnerships with this institution.
Presence at the World Pharmaceutical Congress 2007, at the Pennsylvanian Convention Centre, Philadelphia, USA.
Publication of article “Portuguese students and researchers at the UK discuss conditions for returning to Portugal” in Sol, where the case of BIOALVO is stated as an example.
Publication of article “Investigating in the UK and looking towards Portugal” in RTP Digital, with references to BIOALVO.
Publication of article “Young scientists dream of returning to Portugal to work” in Diário de Notícias with references to BIOALVO.
July
Inauguration of the Drug Discovery Robotic Unit.
Approval of NETS status.
August
Identification of the first active extracts from the PharmaBug library.
Identification of first hits resulting from DISAGGREGATOR I–TAU screening campaign.
Publication of article “BIOALVO modernizes with robotic production” in Expresso.
September
Conclusion of BLOCKADE screening campaign in which 101 hits were identified.
Identification of the first molecule families with therapeutic potential against IDO.
Hiring of Ricardo Pinheiro as Lab Technician.
Submission of the European project Epitherapy, under the FP7 eu program, in a consortium with the University of Göttingen University in Germany, University Miguel Hernandez in Spain, European Brain Research Institute in Italy, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France and University of Freiburg in Germany.
Publication of article “BIOALVO pioneers in the creation of drugs” in Diário Económico.
Presence at Biomeet 2007, which took place at Taguspark, Oeiras, with the presence of Steven Burrill, among others.
Organization of Valuation in Life Sciences workshop, in collaboration with Avance Basel GmbH, at Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon.
Presence at the event Bringing R&D to the Market – the UK experience, at Belém’s Cultural Centre (CCB), Lisbon, organized by the UK Trade & Investment.
October
Announcement of a world-class international Advisory Board that integrates renowned European and American personalities.
Signature of contract with ICAT for the acquisition of the full commercial exploration rights of the natural extracts library PharmaBug.
Office area expansion for senior scientists.
Presence at the 1st Joint ELRIG/SBS meeting on Drug Discovery: The Application of High Throughput Technologies to Target and Lead Identification, Nottingham, UK.
Presence at the 15th BioPartnering Europe (BPE) Conference, London, UK.
Presence at CPhI in Milan, under the program Pharma Portugal.
Presentation of BIOALVO the Easy Investment Forum, organized by Gestventure – Fund Raising, SA and FNABA – National Federation of Business Angels Associations, with the support of Cascais City Hall and InovCapital. The event took place at the Congress Centre of Casino do Estoril and had the presence of about 200 European investors.
Presence at the 8th International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease Drug Discovery, organized by Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (addf), New York, USA.
Submission of the project TAUray following invitation from Alzheimer Drug Discovery Foundation, USA.
November
Hiring of Andreia Valente as Executive Assistant.
Presence at BioEurope 2007, which took place at the Hamburg Congress Centre, Germany.
BVL200703 behaved as a hit in DISAGGREGATOR I–TAU application, which pointed its therapeutic potential in tauopathies.
Receiving of the report MarketOutlook, developed by the University of Texas, Austin, in the scope of the Portugal UTEN program, managed by AdI. Reports were written for the four finalists chosen among 2000 candidates.
Participation in the enterprise mission to BioValley (Switzerland, France and Germany) organized by APBio and ICEP.
Presence at the 3rd AdI’S Innovation Journeys, at FIL, Lisbon.
Participation at the round table discussion “Investing in New Technology-based Companies” organized in the scope of the 3rd AdI’s Innovation Journeys.
Presence at the event Leadership for Business, organized by the Embassy of the UK in Lisbon.
Participation at the round table discussion organized in the scope of the inaugural Distinguish Lecture of MIT-Portugal program entitled “Engineering Systems: Broadening Engineering Education and Research”, given by Professor Yossi Sheffi, FLAD, Lisbon.
December
Presence at the 7th World Drug Discovery & Development Summit 2007, Cologne, Germany.
Participation, by invitation of the Embassy of the UK in Portugal, at the Genesis VII (annual meeting of the London Biotechnology Companies Association), London, UK.
Poster presentation at MicroBiotec07, organized by the Portuguese Society of Biotechnology and the Portuguese Society of Microbiology, in Lisbon.
Publication of article “Doctors are becoming business managers” in Diário de Notícias, with references to BIOALVO.
2nd Annual Event: Mistery Dinner – Crime at the Literary Club, Café Nicola, Lisbon.
Other awards
· Start-up 2005 Prize, technological company, IAPMEI
· Top 10 Prize, National Entrepreneurship Competition 2005, Universidade Nova de Lisboa & Caixa Geral de Depósitos
· National Entrepreneurs Prize 2003, IAPMEI
· Innovation award 2003, ISCTE
· Top 10 award, New Business Challenge 2003, Imperial College of London
· Iberian Bio-Entrepreneurs 2002, APBio e ICEP