The marine environment is the largest on the planet and contains the bulk of the planet’s biodiversity. However, it is only recently that the sea has been seriously studied as a source of new drugs. Instituto Biomar has developed a research program with the objective of exploiting the seas biodiversity, taking advantage of its expertise in Marine Microbiology and Natural Product Chemistry, and its latest additions, the Bioassay and Development Departments.

The discovery effort at Instituto Biomar starts with the collection of marine samples, always following the criteria of maximum diversity at the geographical, ecological and taxonomical levels. The second step is the isolation of microorganisms from marine invertebrate and algae, and their analysis by our in-house developed chemo-taxonomical method. Finally, we proceed to the study and identification of active secondary metabolites and the production of large amounts of them in our Pilot Plant. In summary, Instituto Biomar has developed a compact system that we hope will be the cornerstone for generating a constant flux of leads into our development pipeline as well as the basis for a number of collaborations with other companies.

Instituto Biomar is interested in forming productive collaborations with pharmaceutical, chemical, cosmetic and environmental companies to exploit its technology for product development and commercialisation.