In order to nurture the portfolio of the company with the solutions that meet the needs of the market with convenience and speed, the company performs in two fronts. One of them is the side of innovation in which Aché concentrates its efforts to create new products, and the other is the pharmacotechnical development, which consists in improving and adapting the drugs to market needs, anticipating the production of molecules with patents close to maturity and therefore winning new market shares. To implement scientific development and build a setting of technological independence in Brazil are issues of strategic importance to Aché. In 2008, the company invested 10% of its Ebitda (Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization) on research, development, innovation and new technologies, whether through own studies or partnerships with universities and research centers. The policy of investments in the area has direct effects on the composition of the company’s portfolio in which the company is distinguished for its innovative nature.
The strategy drawn for the performance of the new Research, Development and Innovation Unit reveals Aché’s desire to employ all efforts in the development of scientific research within Brazil. The project therefore contemplates studies of its own and of partnerships with universities and other market agents, seeking to develop radical, incremental research in new molecule associations, phytomedications, synthetics, and products of biotechnological origin.
There are eleven projects of synthetic and phytomedical origin in the works, with significant evolution in 2007. Of the total, three have passed the clinical trials period while eight are in their pre-clinical efficacy and toxicological safety stage.
The strategy drawn for the performance of the new Research, Development and Innovation Unit reveals Aché’s desire to employ all efforts in the development of scientific research within Brazil. The project therefore contemplates studies of its own and of partnerships with universities and other market agents, seeking to develop radical, incremental research in new molecule associations, phytomedications, synthetics, and products of biotechnological origin.
The Research, Development and Innovation Unit of Aché has won an ally with the creation of a new biotechnological department. Currently the use of biotechnology products represents the latest and most efficient technology in the treatment of cancer, kidney diseases and neurological alterations, with participation of about 80% of the drugs.
This segment is still quite incipient in Brazil and is dependent on technology in relation to other countries. Aché has the bold goal of changing this reality, generating knowledge and technical capacity to create, develop and produce in medium and long terms, 100% national biotechnological drugs.
Phytomédica is a product range consisting exclusively of phytomedicines, that is, medicines of vegetable origin, prepared from standardized plant extracts and based on safety and effectiveness studies.
At the present time, there are 7 Phytomédica products on the market:
Twenty years ago, one of the founders of Aché, Victor Siaulys, based on his own positive experience with a Brazilian medicinal plant, had the idea and the vision to research and develop medicines taking advantage of the rich Brazilian flora. This dream and project was almost abandoned several times, due to the countless difficulties that he faced. His persistence, however, enabled us to arrive at Acheflan®, the first medical product totally researched and developed in Brazil. Acheflan®: made with Brazilian raw materials, researched by Brazilian scientists, in Brazilian universities, and developed and launched by the largest Brazilian pharmaceutical laboratory.
We went through all the same R&D stages as for a synthetic medicine, we even compared Acheflan® ointment to the best-selling standard synthetic drug, and the conclusion was that Acheflan® was just as safe and effective as the standard, with a statistical trend towards being superior. We have already been sounded out by seven international companies for some type of partnership with Acheflan® and we are holding talks with a view to exporting it. We have filed patent applications for the oil extract and the active ingredient, and the systemic administration form is in the research and development stage. The success of this medicine was reaffirmed in January 2007, when a new form was launched: Acheflan® spray.
Acheflan® ointment – launched in June 2005 is the result of seven years of research and the investment of R$ 15 million in studies carried out at important Brazilian universities.
In 2006, the company won the Lupa de Ouro (Golden Lens) award in the Prescription Launch category and second place in the Finep award for Technological Innovation, in the Product-Southeast Region category.