Biotie Therapies is a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 biotechnology

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...

 and pharmaceutics

Pharmaceutics

Pharmaceutics is the discipline of pharmacy that deals with all facets of the process of turning a new chemical entity into a medication able to be safely and effectively used by patients in the community. Pharmaceutics is the science of dosage form design...

 company. The company's research and development is focused on dependence disorders, inflammatory diseases and thrombosis

Thrombosis

Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel is injured, the body uses platelets and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss...

. The company's headquarter is located in Turku

Turku

Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...

, Western Finland

Western Finland

Western Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland.- History :...

, and it is listed on Helsinki Stock Exchange

Helsinki Stock Exchange

The Helsinki Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Helsinki, Finland. Since 3 September 2003 it has been part of OMX, referred to as OMX Helsinki . Since NASDAQ's acquisition of OMX in February 2008, the official name of the Helsinki exchange has been NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.- History :The...

. The company also has operations in Radebeul

Radebeul

Radebeul is a town in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well-known for its viticulture, a museum dedicated to writer Karl May and a narrow gauge railway connecting Radebeul with the castle of Moritzburg and the town of Radeburg...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Overview

Biotie Therapies was formed in the merger of Biotie Therapies Corp., Oy Contral Pharma Ltd and its subsidiary Carbion Inc in the year 2002. In the year 2006 the company generated revenue of 1,12 million euros.

In 2008, Biotie Therapies acquired the German pharmaceutical discovery and development company elbion GmbH in Radebeul

Radebeul

Radebeul is a town in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well-known for its viticulture, a museum dedicated to writer Karl May and a narrow gauge railway connecting Radebeul with the castle of Moritzburg and the town of Radeburg...

 which was then renamed to Biotie Therapies GmbH. Target indications of the acquired elbion pipeline included COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , also known as chronic obstructive lung disease , chronic obstructive airway disease , chronic airflow limitation and chronic obstructive respiratory disease , is the co-occurrence of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, a pair of commonly co-existing diseases...

, schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...

 and opioid dependence. The combined entity will focus on research and development of drugs for central nervous system disorders (addiction, psychotic illnesses) and inflammatory diseases (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis) with high unmet medical need.

As of 2009, the company has partnering agreements with H. Lundbeck A/S

Lundbeck

H. Lundbeck A/S is a Danish international pharmaceutical company engaged in the research and development, production, marketing, and sale of drugs for the treatment of disorders in the central nervous system , including depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease,...

, Roche, Wyeth

Wyeth

Wyeth, formerly one of the companies owned by American Home Products Corporation , was a pharmaceutical company. The company was based in Madison, New Jersey, USA...

 and Seikagaku Corporation.

Under the terms of the Nalmefene contract with Lundbeck, Biotie is eligible for up to €84 million in upfront and milestone payments, plus royalty on sales of the drug.

Product pipeline

The company's most advanced product, Nalmefene

Nalmefene

Nalmefene is an opioid receptor antagonist developed in the early 1970s, and used primarily in the management of alcohol dependence, and also has been investigated for the treatment of other addictions such as pathological gambling and addiction to shopping.Nalmefene is an opiate derivative...

, for the treatment of alcoholism

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

, is currently in Phase III clinical trials. The trials are being conducted by Biotie's partner, Lundbeck

Lundbeck

H. Lundbeck A/S is a Danish international pharmaceutical company engaged in the research and development, production, marketing, and sale of drugs for the treatment of disorders in the central nervous system , including depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease,...

. Preliminary results should be available in the first half of 2011. Previous studies have shown, that nalmefene has the ability to significantly limit both the patient's average alcohol intake and the number of days with an intake above five units of alcohol

Unit of alcohol

Units of alcohol are a measure of the volume of pure alcohol in an alcoholic beverage. Such units are used in some countries asa guideline for a drinker's alcohol consumption....

. The drug works by removing the patient's desire to drink more, thereby controlling and limiting the intake of alcohol. The drug will be used in tablet form, and taken only according to need. According to the company this is a novel approach for alcohol dependency treatment; existing treatments are aimed at keeping the patient from drinking and the drugs have to be taken continuously over a longer period of time.

BTT-1023 - a fully human Vascular Adhesion Protein-1 (VAP-1) monoclonal antibody - intended for treatment of inflammatory diseases, is currently in Phase I clinical trials with rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...

 patients. Accordin to the company, inhibiting VAP-1 reduces inflammation

Inflammation

Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli and to initiate the healing process...

 by regulating the migration of leukocytes, or white blood cell

White blood cell

White blood cells, or leukocytes , are cells of the immune system involved in defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials. Five different and diverse types of leukocytes exist, but they are all produced and derived from a multipotent cell in the bone marrow known as a...

s, to inflamed tissues. Pathological accumulation of white blood cells in tissue is a common feature in many autoimmune disease

Autoimmune disease

Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body actually attacks its own cells. The immune system mistakes some part of the body as a pathogen and attacks it. This may be restricted to...

s, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease . Ulcerative colitis is a form of colitis, a disease of the colon , that includes characteristic ulcers, or open sores. The main symptom of active disease is usually constant diarrhea mixed with blood, of gradual onset...

, and psoriasis

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system mistakes the skin cells as a pathogen, and sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious. However, psoriasis has been linked to an increased risk of...

.

Name	Target indications	Partner	Status
Nalmefene Nalmefene Nalmefene is an opioid receptor antagonist developed in the early 1970s, and used primarily in the management of alcohol dependence, and also has been investigated for the treatment of other addictions such as pathological gambling and addiction to shopping.Nalmefene is an opiate derivative...	alcohol dependence Alcohol dependence Alcohol dependence, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing an entity in which an individual uses alcohol despite significant areas of dysfunction, evidence of physical dependence, and/or related hardship.-Definition and diagnosis:According to the DSM-IV criteria for...	Lundbeck Lundbeck H. Lundbeck A/S is a Danish international pharmaceutical company engaged in the research and development, production, marketing, and sale of drugs for the treatment of disorders in the central nervous system , including depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease,...	Phase III clinical trials
BTT-1023 VAP-1 monoclonal antibody	inflammatory diseases	Roche, Seikagaku	Phase I clinical trials
ELB353	COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , also known as chronic obstructive lung disease , chronic obstructive airway disease , chronic airflow limitation and chronic obstructive respiratory disease , is the co-occurrence of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, a pair of commonly co-existing diseases...		Phase I clinical trials
Buprenorphine Depot	Opioid dependence		Pre-clinical
PDE10	Schizophrenia Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...	Wyeth Wyeth Wyeth, formerly one of the companies owned by American Home Products Corporation , was a pharmaceutical company. The company was based in Madison, New Jersey, USA...	Pre-clinical
a2ß1 integrin inhibitor	thrombosis Thrombosis Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel is injured, the body uses platelets and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss... , cancer Cancer Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the... , and inflammatory diseases		Pre-Clinical
recombinant bioheparin	thrombosis Thrombosis Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel is injured, the body uses platelets and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss...		Pre-Clinical
VAP-1 SSAO AOC3 Amine oxidase, copper containing 3 , also known as semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase , is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the AOC3 gene.- Function :... small molecule inhibitor			Pre-Clinical
Sources: http://www.biotie.com/Webroot/1009506/SubPageWide.aspx?id=1010246http://www.biotie.com/In_English/Research_and_development/Research