“We comb the sea floor in search of potential cancer-fighting organisms until the potential materializes in the laboratory,” say sources at the biopharmaceutical company Pharmamar.

The company developed and has begun to market the first cancer drug from a marine organism, known as Yondelis. Yondelis been approved for the treatment of ovarian cancer and soft tissue sarcoma in 30 countries in Europe.

PharmaMar has a long history: in the 1960s, biologists and chemists around the world began to investigate life in the sea and search for aquatic organisms that showed potential for therapeutic products.

In the 1980s, the discovery of marine compounds capable of inhibiting the growth of cell cultures raised interest within the pharmaceutical industry, particularly at PharmaMar.

The work of PharmaMar, located outside Madrid, began with the discovery of a molecule known as ecteinascidin in 1986. This molecule, which could inhibit the growth of tumors, was found in tunicates, or sea squirts, that live on the sea floor. Although similar to algae in appearance, tunicates are actually animals. Their name is derived from the fact that the animal secretes a cellulosic substance (tunicin) that forms a tunic-like shape.

PharmaMar owes much of its success to the vision of the company’s founder, José María Fernández Sousa, who refused to give up until he had achieved his goal to obtain innovative, cancer-fighting products from marine life.

Fernández Sousa had an extensive career in science, as a doctor and as a senior professor of biochemistry. He met with various experts who said he was on the right track, including a chemist at the University of Illinois, who had also been studying marine products.

Although Fernández Sousa’s dream initially seemed to be more science fiction than reality, PharmaMar soon was supported by investors, who saw the huge financial potential of the proposal. After 24 years, and with the recent approval of Yondelis, the company has now achieved success.

“We comb the sea floor in search of potential cancer-fighting organisms until the potential materializes in the laboratory,” say sources at the biopharmaceutical company Pharmamar.

The company developed and has begun to market the first cancer drug from a marine organism, known as Yondelis. Yondelis been approved for the treatment of ovarian cancer and soft tissue sarcoma in 30 countries in Europe.

PharmaMar has a long history: in the 1960s, biologists and chemists around the world began to investigate life in the sea and search for aquatic organisms that showed potential for therapeutic products.

In the 1980s, the discovery of marine compounds capable of inhibiting the growth of cell cultures raised interest within the pharmaceutical industry, particularly at PharmaMar.

The work of PharmaMar, located outside Madrid, began with the discovery of a molecule known as ecteinascidin in 1986. This molecule, which could inhibit the growth of tumors, was found in tunicates, or sea squirts, that live on the sea floor. Although similar to algae in appearance, tunicates are actually animals. Their name is derived from the fact that the animal secretes a cellulosic substance (tunicin) that forms a tunic-like shape.

PharmaMar owes much of its success to the vision of the company’s founder, José María Fernández Sousa, who refused to give up until he had achieved his goal to obtain innovative, cancer-fighting products from marine life.

Fernández Sousa had an extensive career in science, as a doctor and as a senior professor of biochemistry. He met with various experts who said he was on the right track, including a chemist at the University of Illinois, who had also been studying marine products.

Although Fernández Sousa’s dream initially seemed to be more science fiction than reality, PharmaMar soon was supported by investors, who saw the huge financial potential of the proposal. After 24 years, and with the recent approval of Yondelis, the company has now achieved success.