Orphan drug firm Sobi opens new European base

Sobi (Swedish Orphan Biovitrum) has opened doors on its new European and Benelux office in Brussels.

The company said the move was a reflection of its expanding international presence and would act as an operational hub for its business.

Hege Hellstrom, president EMENAR at Sobi, said: "Brussels provides an ideal location for our European operations. Being a company dedicated to rare diseases, Brussels is of vital importance to Sobi from a business, regulatory, policy and stakeholder interaction perspective.

“The Belgian authorities have also consistently been thought leaders in collaborative, cross-border approaches to access and availability of rare disease therapies for patients."

The rare disease-focused specialty pharmaceutical company has more than 600 employees who concentrate primarily on its work in haemophilia, inflammation and genetic diseases.

In July the European Commission approved an oral suspension formulation of Orfadin (nitisinone), which treats the rare - and potentially fatal - genetic disease Hereditary Tyrosinaemia type-1 (HT-1).

More recently the FDA this week began its review of the oral suspension formulation of Orfadin, and Sobi said a formal decision on the product from the US regulator is expected during the second quarter 2016.

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