SOLFARCOS – Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Solutions Ltd was created in 2016 as a spin-off company of the University of Minho for the exploitation of technologies being developed by the Bioprocess and Bionanotechnology Research Group (BBRG) from the Centre of Biological Engineering. At present, SOLFARCOS employs 8 researchers and supports 3 PhD students working in 5 research lines – Pharma Care, Hair Care, Skin Care, Protein Engineering and Peptide Technology – and 2 transversal areas – Chemical Synthesis & Analytics, and Project, Technology & Regulatory Affairs Management.

SOLFARCOS is dedicated to the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical and cosmetic biobased technologies for the incorporation in third parties’ portfolios (B2B strategy). Our team of experts in research and development in Biotechnology, Health and Nanomedicine fields, also provides consulting and management services to support European projects in the area of Nanomedicine. Currently, the company’s turnover comes from the commercialization of proprietary peptides for hair applications. The revenues are fully invested in R&D activities and an expressive part will be used to sponsor the proof-of-concept clinical trial that will be conducted in the first semester of 2022 to test the efficacy, safety and tolerability of a methotrexate-based liposomal targeted therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients. This study follows the first-in-human phase I trial that successfully ended in September 2021 becoming a significant milestone of the team’s commitment for over 10 years and that counted with 10+ million EUR from EU contribution through Nanofol and Folsmart European projects.

Besides the R&D laboratory located at the headquarters, SOLFARCOS has full access to the facilities of the Centre of Biological Engineering from the University of Minho. A new space with over 2000 m² has been lately acquired where a full industrial unit will grow for in-house production of proprietary proteins and peptides.