BRIEF—New business model to boost orphan drug access in Europe

A Dutch company with a novel business model, Avanzanite Bioscience, is looking to expand patient access to medicines for rare diseases in Europe.

The drug distributor will work with biotech firms to forge “flexible, bespoke licensing and distribution partnerships” in the region, offering what it calls “a market-driven solution for the issue of access to orphan medicines in Europe.”

The problem that Avanzanite seeks to address is the complexity and cost of operating in a fragmented economic bloc, targeting a limited number of patients.

The firm has already partnered with ophthalmic company SIFI to commercialize and distribute its investigational ultra-orphan medicine for the treatment of acanthamoeba keratitis (AK).

Founder and chief executive Adam Plich said the firm had “cracked the code in deciphering this tricky landscape,” adding “we are ready to take our transformational model to the next level.”