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TWST: Can we start with a brief historical sketch and introduction to Pharming Group (Amsterdam: PHAR.AS)?

Dr. Pinto: Pharming Group was one of the first companies to enter the European biotech space. It’s about 10 years old and became listed Easdaq (now Nasdaq Europe) in 1998. About a year later, it also became listed on Euronext. The company then had a problem with its lead product, Alpha Glucosidase (for Pompe’s disease) because they had tried to develop it on two or three platforms and consequently ran into funding and other issues culminating in receivership in August 2001. At that time the annual loss was about 55 million and there were about 250 employees. In 2002, there was a major restructuring, taking a much more focused and product-oriented approach and they reduced the headcount from 250 to about 40 and cut the loss from 55 million to about one million while focusing the product pipeline basically on so-called orphan drugs and products with surgical and other applications which had a quicker route to market. That is where we are now. The lead product, C1 inhibitor, is moving quite rapidly through the regulatory requirements and is currently in Phase II and hopefully it will be launched within the next 18 to 24 months. The company is very trim with costs quite well controlled and it is back with a full listing on the Euronext market. Of course like all the biotech stocks, it has come down quite a bit from where it was in the early days, but it’s basically a good restructuring story.

TWST: Can you tell us more about C1 inhibitor?

Dr. Pinto: The product addresses certain hereditary problems with what is called the complement system, which is one of the very basic systems in the body addressing the issues related to damaged cells or inflammation. There are about 1 in 10,000 people who have a hereditary defect in this area. It can help prevent the severe swellings (oedema’s) that are seen in these patients either in the abdomen or the hands and feet or sometimes in the larynx which can be life threatening. So there’s a great need for this product. It was developed already from human blood but then it ran into problems with availability of blood and the cost of developing from blood, etc. So we now make it genetically using our transgenic system whereby a biogenetic construct is put into either rabbits or cows and the protein is extracted through the milk of the animal and then purified. We then get pure product -- recombinant human C1 inhibitor.

TWST: Are there other alternative treatments out on the market at this stage?

Dr. Pinto: The only competitor is a product called DX-88. DX-88 is not a direct competitor because it acts in a different way, although it also addresses the problem of hereditary angioedema.

TWST: What other products do you have in development?

Dr. Pinto: We have recombinant human fibrinogen, which is used as a fibrant sealant. We have recombinant human collagen, which has a wide variety of surgical and other uses. And the fourth product we have is recombinant human lactoferrin, which is actually the main protective ingredient in mother’s milk. So these are the three other products, which are at various stages in the clinical pipeline.

TWST: Tell us about your main objectives for the next 12 to 24 months and what goals you would like to accomplish for that time period to be a success for the company?

Dr. Pinto: There are three key objectives. One is to get some partnerships completed this year and I think we’ll complete a major one within the next three months. The second objective we have is to strengthen our overall financial position and strengthen our balance sheet. The third objective is to bring C1 to the market as rapidly as possible.

TWST: How will you strengthen the balance sheet?

Dr. Pinto: We expect to do a small fundraising later this year.

TWST: Can you summarize the vision you have for the company?

Dr. Pinto: I think we are close to becoming a biotech company on a new frontier, transgenic proteins. This is a research oriented company that is able to focus on products and profits. So it’s a much more business oriented approach and certainly one of the best turnarounds in the biotech sector.