Just two years since its foundation S&R Farmaceutici has achieved an important milestone.

Its very own ‘Revifast’ was declared product of the year 2017 on occasion of the European Biotechnology Congress 2017, which this year took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia and each year hosts the “Best biotechnology award”. Dr. Bernard Fioretti, collaborator of the Research & Development division of S&R farmaceutici and professor of physiology of nutrition at the Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnologies (DCBB) of the University of Perugia and with whom the company based in Bastia Umbra plans to pursue other projects, received the award straight from the hands of professor Munis Dundar, president of Ebtna (the European biotechnology thematic network association).

Fioretti declared “It is a great honour for me to receive this award after a long journey which first began in 2009, when the Umbrian research company first assigned me to a technological transfer program in Gottingen, Germany. Upon my return to Umbria I worked with local companies, like the spin-off Prolabin & Tefarm srl which was studying synthetic clays in an attempt to understand how they interact with polyphenols, including resveratrol, a molecule contained in wine and therefore very close to my heart insofar as I am from Montefalco. Revifast was the result of these studies, an innovative association between the molecule resveratrol and magnesium hydroxide which has since been patented and together with S&R farmaceutici used in the formulation of supplements containing resveratrol. Success would never have been spearheaded if it weren’t for them, Lucio Leonardi and Mauro Dionigi in particular (respectively General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of S&R farmaceutici), who believed in me and invested in this project”. Leonardi explains how “considerable economic resources are required in order to develop this type of product. In the two years following our start-up, we invested 20 percent of turnover. If we consider that on average, Italian pharmaceutical companies invest roughly 4-5 percent in the development of research products, this explains the extent of the importance for us. This gamble has been amply rewarded, not only due to the award but also because one of our products containing Revifast (Revifastcardio) has since been commercialised by an important Italian pharmaceutical company. Moreover, we have already received requests from more than 40 countries in the world from potential distributors”.

Currently S&R farmaceutici has added Revifast to three different products which support medical treatment (it is contained in Kirocomplex for dysmetabolic syndrome, polycystic ovary (Pcos) and infertility; in Revifastdol for pelvic pain, in association with feverfew; in Revifastcardio, associated with monacolin k, as a cardiovascular treatment). Leonardi adds “This is what we have done in the field of neutraceuticals, but now we’d like to undertake an even more challenging path in the pharmacological area because a product of such potential can be studied and developed in application fields including the brain and rare diseases like dystrophies”.

Fioretti concludes: “In addition to all that has been done in the field of neutraceuticals, three are two great potentials that arise from making the resveratrol molecule bioavailable: the possibility of using it in the field of radiotherapy and rare diseases.
Currently I’m heading an Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research Sir (Scientific Independent Research) project at the University of Perugia, for the development of new radiosensitising agents based on silver nanoparticles. During this project nanomedical associations with resveratrol emerged, as well as molecules with a stilbenic structure, capable of boosting the effectiveness of radiotherapy in the field of oncology. As regards rare diseases, such as type I miotonic dystrophy for example, our in vitro studies have shown that resveratrol reverses the electrophysiological state altered by the pathogenetic mechanism of the disease. Therefore in the future it would be interesting to understand whether composites containing Revifast can be used to the improve the lifestyle and life expectancy of subjects affected by type I miotonic Dystrophy”.