22nd June 2022
This major therapeutic innovation will be accessible to all veterinarians thanks to DogStem, an injectable solution whose Marketing Authorisation (MA) was approved by the EMA (European Medicines Agency) on 15 June. This is a first collaboration that should lead to other markets and other products in the coming years, as the two partners are not hiding their ambitions in North America.
Following their search for a distributor, the Dômes Pharma Group was chosen by EquiCord to market the world’s first injectable stem cell formula for the management of canine osteoarthritis. President of the Dômes Pharma Group, Anne Moulin, is delighted with this partnership: “We are extremely proud to have been chosen by EquiCord to bring this therapeutic innovation to the European market. It is a great joy and an honour to be the first to offer veterinarians an innovative therapeutic solution that was previously used in a confidential manner due to the complexity and cost of the process. It is a true recognition of the Group’s expertise in the marketing of highly technical specialty products that require tailor-made support for both practitioners and pet owners.
Between Equicord, a young Spanish company, whose second stem cell-based product will be marketed, and Dômes Pharma, a French family-owned group that has been an expert in speciality markets for 75 years, the collaboration worked right away. Anne Moulin explains this by the collaborative approach and the way the Group operates: “With us, young innovative companies will find a real partner who will help them to develop without imposing its methods. We know how to leave room for our partners and bring them our experience in marketing speciality products. Our family ownership gives us the flexibility and speed they expect.
Indeed, the two companies have much more in common than they appear at first glance. Above all, they share values such as their commitment to providing innovative and original solutions, their high level of product requirements and technical expertise, and the desire to work together over the long term. For Almudena Pradera, EquiCord has found in Dômes Pharma a partner who is equal to the challenge: “For EquiCord, the dream has been the driving force behind overcoming all the difficulties that such an innovative product has entailed. This same dream was shared by the Dômes Pharma Group from our first meeting, and it was this shared dream that made the difference when we chose them as our partner for DogStem and for the rest of the products we want to develop together”.
For Anne Moulin, it was the human aspect that made the difference: “What attracted me to EquiCord was their passion for stem cell technology and their desire to share it with us in complete transparency. We spent a lot of time together to learn about their technology, their know-how and their projects. Their enthusiasm is infectious and we look forward to marketing their products in Europe and, we hope, in the United States as well, where the Group will be established very soon.
In the coming years, the Dômes Pharma Group intends to develop this type of distribution partnership with biotechs. This will be discussed at the Animal Health Innovation USA Forum, which will be held in Boston from 21 to 23 June, and of which the Group is a partner. Anne Moulin will announce the opening of the Dômes Pharma US subsidiary, which she will manage to prepare the introduction of the Anti-tox range in North America.
Cellular therapy, which consists of injecting stem cells to help maintain and restore the activity of a tissue or organ, has given rise to great hope in recent years for inflammatory and degenerative diseases. The injection of layer cells is already used by veterinarians to treat canine osteoarthritis, but from the stem cells of the animal to be treated. The practice is not very widespread because it is complex to implement. It is necessary to take a tissue sample from the animal and then send it to a laboratory which will extract the stem cells and make them multiply before they are reinjected.
EquiCord is a multidisciplinary company formed by veterinarians, researchers and engineers dedicated to the research & development, manufacturing and marketing of stem cell-based medicines for animals. In 2019, EquiCord obtained European marketing authorisation for the world’s first and only pure mesenchymal stem cell-based veterinary drug: HorStem.
EquiCord’s mission is to develop affordable, innovative, highly effective, safe and regenerative advanced therapy medicines available for all animals worldwide.
Dômes Pharma, an independent family-owned group, has been active in the pharmaceutical industry, mainly in the veterinary field, since 1947. It employs 400 people on 5 sites in France, England and Germany and has a consolidated turnover of €82 million (2020).
The Group develops, manufactures and markets through its various subsidiaries solutions for the health and well-being of pets which are currently distributed in more than 15 countries. Organised around the holding company Dômes Pharma, our vertical integration allows us to control the entire value chain of the drug through complementary subsidiaries. This specificity puts us in contact with all the players in animal health: scientists, manufacturers, pharmacists, veterinarians and pet owners.
Because Humans, Animals and the Environment are linked by nature, taking care of the animals that share our daily lives means preserving everyone’s health. This conviction is expressed in our motto “LINKED BY NATURE” inspired by the concept of “One Health”.
Almudana Pradera, EquiCord Scientific and Business Development Director
Tél : +34 655179210 | apradera@equicord.com
Florence LEPAGE, Communications Director, Dômes Pharma Group
Tél : + 33 (0) 6 83 09 21 03 | f.lepage@dome-pharma.p74.dbm-dev.com