BioWorld International Correspondent

ZICHRON YA'AKOV, Israel - Israel's first biopharmaceutical drug development company, Bioline Therapeutics, has been created by a strategic partnership of four groups.

The founders are Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., of Jerusalem; Giza Venture Capital, of Tel Aviv; Pitango Venture Capital, of Herzliya; and Hadasit, the commercialization subsidiary of Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem.

Bioline starts operations with US$11M in investment focused on in-licensed compounds, primarily from Israeli academia and hospitals.

"The establishment of Bioline Therapeutics is one of the most significant events in the biotech arena in Israel," said Rafi Hofstein, president and CEO of Hadasit.

Aharon Schwartz, vice president of strategic business planning at Teva and chairman of Bioline Therapeutics, agreed, telling BioWorld International, "This is an exciting new venture for Israel, and for our part, we will provide all the help that we can, recommitting to Israeli science following the success of Copaxone and Rasagaline. Teva will benefit from these combined resources in bringing products from proof of concept through clinical trials."

Bioline will be led by CEO Morris Laster, an American-trained medical doctor and 12-year veteran in biotechnology, who founded four publicly traded companies, including Jerusalem-based Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. in 1997.

Avi Molcho, managing director of life sciences at Giza Venture Capital, told BioWorld International, "Bioline will generate a rich pipeline of multiple products with molecules mainly from Israeli academia. Our partner group came together about a year ago to form a private biotech incubator, but realized how limited that model is. Bioline will fill the critical empty niche between innovation in Israeli science and the development stage, which is usually too early for private investment."

Ruti Alon, managing director of health care at Pitango Venture Capital, agreed. "By filling this critical gap in development, the company is positioning to take drug candidates to a higher valuation in any future royalty stream," he said. "Together with the appropriate financing, this will enable us to establish a base for the possible development of a major biopharmaceutical company."

Bioline will be located in the Hadassah University Hospital campus and the founding partners already have invited the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to participate.

Laster said, "The scientific, clinical and financial expertise of all those associated with Bioline in conjunction with Israeli medical R&D truly represents a winning combination. I would like to take this opportunity to laud the Bioline partners on their foresight in investing in Israel at this time and look forward to working with the Bioline founders to make this company a great success."