BioLineRx


BioLineRx, or BioLine, is a publicly traded drug development company that seeks to discover compounds for disease treatment and develop them into commercializable drugs. Headquartered in Israel, its shares are traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market and on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Operations

BioLineRx is a drug development company that seeks to discover compounds with potential to treat a variety of diseases, including cancer, schizophrenia and cardiac deterioration. When promising compounds are discovered, BioLine leads them through preclinical trials and engages other companies to advance the compounds' development into commercializable drugs. The company entered into its first major commercialization agreement in 2009 when it partnered with Ikaria Holdings Inc. to develop its BL-1040 compound. In 2010 BioLine entered into a commercialization agreement with Cypress Bioscience Inc. for development of its BL-1020 compound. The agreement with Cypress was canceled in 2011 when the company was taken over by Ramius LLC.

Pipeline

Below is a partial list of drug compounds in various stages of development by BioLineRx. Unless indicated otherwise, they have not obtained regulatory approval in relation to the diseases cited.
BioLine's business model consists of three stages. In the first stage, called the bench stage, the potential drug candidate is evaluated "from both scientific and marketing perspectives." In the second stage, called the bedside stage, BioLine accompanies the drug through early clinical trials. In the third stage, the partner stage, BioLine enters into strategic partnership with a pharmaceutical company to see the drug through its advanced clinical trials and bring it to the market.

Corporate history

BioLineRx was established in 2003 as a joint venture of Teva, Hadasit Bio-Holdings, the Jerusalem Development Authority, Yehuda Zisapel, and other investors. It executed an initial public offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in February 2007, raising 211 million NIS – the TASE's largest biotech IPO until that time. In July 2011 BioLine's ADRs began trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market. In January 2012, BioLineRx announced a deal with Genoscience, a French pharmaceutical company to jointly develop and market the BL-8020 compound, as a treatment for Hepatitis C. At the end of 2014, Novartis acquired a 12.8% stake in the company as a strategic move to gain access to Israeli-sourced drug candidates.

Management

Morris Laster, Downstate Medical Center and SUNY Albany alumnus, was CEO of BioLineRx until 2009. He was replaced by Kinneret Savitsky, alumnus of Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, early in 2010. Savitsky was replaced as CEO by BioLine COO Philip Serlin on October 10, 2016.