Lallemand enters the pharma arena

Lallemand Pharma International (LPI), a new affiliate of Canadian micro-organisms expert Lallemand Inc., officially commenced operations in February in Zug, Switzerland.

This new pharmaceutical company is dedicated exclusively to conducting clinical studies and to the registration, marketing and sales of pharmaceutical products. It has acquired the business and intellectual property rights of the immunostimulant drugs marketed under the brands Ismigen, Immubron and Respibron in various countries around the world and produced by Lallemand over the past few years.

These products have proven effective in the prophylaxis and treatment of chronic and acute respiratory infections. Ismigen is already well established in Italy, as well as in Portugal, Mexico, Korea, the Ukraine, India, Uruguay and Chile, and it is in the process of obtaining registration in 20 other countries.

Ismigen and Immubron, along with various other products in development and in the process of being registered, are all bacterial lysates recognized for their unique immunostimulating properties.

Lallemand's bacterial lysates distinguish themselves from traditional lysates by their production process: they are prepared from a large array of inactivated pathogenic bacteria via mechanical lysis. Unilke chemical lysis, the process ensures optimal preservation of the pathogens" antigens structure. This, combined with the large variety of pathogens used, provides optimal immunogenic activity. Lallemand has produced Ismigen and Immubron for the past 15 years at its Saint Simon bacteria manufacturing facility in central France.

One of the missions of LPI is to develop and extend further the clinical documentation and therapeutic applications of its unique bacterial lysates. The company has teamed up with world-renowned lung and immunology experts to design and conduct its clinical research programme. A first large-scale, multi-centre study is expected to begin before the end of the year.

The primary therapeutic areas of focus for LPI's bacterial lysates are infections of the upper and lower respiratory tract, with the products already having proven effective in the prophylaxis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They have also shown strong potential in the fight against bacterial infections that constitute the major complication of viral respiratory infections, another area in need of significant medical attention.