Cancer drug developed in Mallorca approved by the US FDA

Pablo Escribá of LaminarPharma. | LaminarPharma

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma29/10/2021 11:17

The US Food and Drug Administration has classified a drug developed in Mallorca as an orphan drug, this being a drug that is not developed by the pharmaceutical industry for economic reasons but as a response to a public health need. It is typically the case that because a medical condition is rare, it would not be profitable to produce the drug without government assistance.

The Mallorca drug is LAM561 and is for the treatment of gliomas, tumours that occur in the brain and spinal cord. It has been developed by LaminarPharma, based on the Palma ParcBit technology park. The company's founder and CEO is Pablo Escribá, a professor of molecular biology at the University of the Balearic Islands.

Research into the drug began five years ago. It has completed phase I and II clinical studies in cancer patients; its safety and indication as a therapeutic agent have been demonstrated. LaminarPharma plans that LAM561 will be marketed from 2023.