Our History

Zeltia is stablished to serve a territory that is lacking access to medicines, using local medicinal plants and animal subproducts as a source of inspiration.

From the beginning, Dr. Fernando Servet and his colleagues are able to produce numerous drugs, including slow-release insulins, sulfonamids, alkaloids from ergot fungi, ephedrine and other molecules to treat heart and metabolic diseases, and gynecological disorders.

Along with other cutting-edge laboratories, Zeltia participates in the creation of the start-up of Antibióticos S.A.

Zeltia is publicly traded on the Spanish Stock Exchange.

Under Zeltia's management, three new companies are born to serve three different markets: the agrarian industry (Zeltia Agraria), the pharmaceutical industry (ICI Farma), and chemical and animal drug products (Cooper Zeltia).

After a partnership with the German company Desowag Bayer Holzschultz, a new company called Xylazel is launched, that develops products for protecting and treating wood and metal.

Zeltia focused its investment a R&D efforts on the companies fully-owned by the Group and removes Antibióticos S.A. and ICI Farma from its business strategy.

A crucial year for Zeltia, as PharmaMar, a pioneering enterprise envisioned to bring marine-inspired innovative drugs to the oncology arena is founded by José María Fernández Sousa-Faro

The early Cooper Zeltia came to an end and Zelnova remains as the chemical Company. This same year the group enters the molecular and genetic testing area, creating Pharma Gen, a company commited to the development of molecular diagnostics and forensic genetic-based analysis.

Zeltia is listed on the continuous market.

The PharmaMar R&D team finishes the chemical synthesis process to obtain its first marine-derived anti-cancer drug, YONDELIS®, by means of of chemical semi-synthesis.

Pharma Gen rebrands its name and logo to GENOMICA, a company that is becoming a leader in the field of molecular diagnostics in Spain.

PharmaMar establishes its headquarters in Colmenar Viejo outside Madrid to expand the R&D department and the production plant.

PharmaMar begins the phase III study in ovarian cancer using the synthetic version of its first marine-derived anticancer drug in humans for the first time.

In order to strengthen the Company in the biotecnological space, a spin-off called Sylentis is created to address unmet medical needs using a gene silencing platform to develope innovative drugs.

PharmaMar gets the approval of the European Commission to market the first anticancer drug of marine origin, YONDELIS®, in soft tissue sarcoma which marks the first approval of a Spanish drug through a centralized procedure.

PharmaMar obtiens a second indication for YONDELIS® in ovarian cancer, ang the FDA approves the manufacturing process of the active ingredients, opening the door to the US oncology market.

PharmaMar continues its global expansion and open four affiliates over the course of three years in Italy, Germany, France and the UK.

Yondelis® is approved in the US and Japan for soft tissue sarcoma, a milestone for a Spanish anticancer drug.

At the end of 2015 a corporate restructuring leads to the reverse merger of PharmaMar and Zeltia, focusing the company on oncology, with PharmaMar now as the Holding Co. of the innovative business units.