Milestone for new start-up swedish pharmaceutical company - diabetes drug approved in first eu market
The Swedish pharmaceutical company Bluefish Pharmaceuticals has had its first product approved in the EU. The product concerned is Metformin HCl Bluefish, used in the treatment of diabetes, which has been approved by the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board (the counterpart of the Swedish Medical Products Agency). Approval in the Netherlands means that the drug can be approved in other EU Member States in the near future.
Bluefish Pharmaceuticals is a manufacturing pharmaceutical company that in particular licenses the right to manufacture generic products (drugs whose patent has expired). Prices can be kept low through cost-effective production and distribution.
”The whole western world is tussling with rising costs for health care and medicines. A low price for mature drugs makes it possible to treat common diseases at reasonable cost,” says Karl Karlsson, President and CEO of Bluefish Pharmaceuticals.
The product Metformin HCl Bluefish (containing the active substance metformin hydrochloride) is a first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes – one of the most common diseases in Europe. In Sweden alone, medicines containing this substance are sold to a value of more than SEK 70 million a year. In Sweden, as in most European countries, it is the pharmacy that makes sure that patients receive the right product at the lowest possible price.
”Our aim is to start selling this first product in another 5-10 countries over the next year and within two years to substantially broaden our product portfolio so that it contains more than 20 products. Seven applications have so far been submitted to European regulatory authorities," says Karlsson.
Contact: Karl Karlsson, President and CEO, tel. +46 (0)8-679 50 70
About Bluefish
Bluefish Pharmaceuticals AB is a Swedish pharmaceutical company that buys or licenses the rights to manufacture medicines, principally generic products. Low prices are maintained through efficient production and distribution. Bluefish has a wholly owned subsidiary in Chennai (India) focusing on product development and manufacturing. Bluefish is owned by, among others, the venture capital company Quesada, its founder Karl Karlsson and a number of private investors, who include Bo Rönnberg and Lars-Göran Kjellin