Almirall, a global biopharmaceutical company focused on skin health, entered into an agreement with ZeClinics, a Contract Research Organization (CRO) specialized in zebrafish, to be based at Almirall’s R&D centre.

Through the agreement, Almirall aims to transform its R&D centre in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain, into a uniquely collaborative environment where researchers from biotech companies, start-ups, academia, and other scientist meet with Almirall’s team to enhance research success.

Under the agreement, ZeClinics will be able to leverage Almirall’s state-of-the-art R&D facilities to help advance its innovative pipeline and provide customized services to help their clients with disease modelling, target discovery and drug development.

The R&D centre has 7,400 square meters of fully equipped laboratories and production area.

ZeClinics’ mission is to accelerate research by challenging the discovery process, with a model that combines the advantages of zebrafish with lab automation and artificial intelligence.

“Our agreement with ZeClinics highlights our commitment to enabling scientific innovation that improves people’s lives,” said Karl Ziegelbauer, Almirall S.A.’s chief scientific officer. Through these collaborations with biotech companies and academia, and the opening of our R&D centre, we reinforce our objective to create a cutting-edge research ecosystem.”

Simone Calzolari, ZeClinics’ CEO said: “Being part of such an innovative research hub gives us the opportunity to establish synergies, both in terms of knowledge and advanced technologies. It is a unique opportunity for ZeClinics to continue growing and providing higher-quality science to our clients.”