BIAL

Portela e C.ª, S.A.

Type	Sociedade Anónima
Industry	Major drugs, health care
Founded	April 19, 1924
Headquarters	Trofa, Portugal
Key people	Luís Portela, CEO
Products	Pharmaceuticals
Number of employees	650 (2009)
Website	www.bial.com

Bial (Portela e C.ª, S.A.) is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Sao Mamede do Coronado, in Trofa, Porto district, Portugal. It was founded in 1924, being among the largest companies of its kind in Portugal.

Bial is an International Pharmaceutical Group. Its products are sold in pharmacies in more than 40 countries in 4 continents: Europe, America, Africa and Asia. Some of the group companies are: Laboratórios Bial, Medibial, Bialfar, Bialport, Bial Aristegui, Medimport and Medangol.

On 21 September 2015, the European Investment Bank signed a EUR 45 million financing agreement for Bial's R&D over the next 3 years. It was directed to "discover, develop and provide therapeutic solutions in [...] three major areas of research: central nervous system (CNS), cardiology and allergen immunotherapy". The EIB found Bial not to have the status of a contracting entity, and therefore Bial has not been subject to EU rules on public procurement.

In 2008, Bial completed clinical evaluation of eslicarbazepine acetate, a drug for the adjunctive use in partial seizures in adults with epilepsy. The Japanese company Eisai gained the sole license to market, promote and distribute it as Zebinix or Exalief in Europe. In America it is marketed by Sunovion under the name Aptiom. Its use in epilepsy treatment in children is under development. A clinical trial of eslicarbazepine acetate as therapy in persons with diabetic neuropathic pain was prematurely halted.

Etamicastat (BIA 5–453) is a dopamine-β-hydroxylase inhibitor decreasing norepinephrine levels in peripheral sympathetically innervated tissues, without effect in brain tissues of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

BIA 5-1058 is another reversible dopamine beta-hydroxylase inhibitor which decreases norepinephrine levels in peripheral sympathetically innervated tissues, without CNS effects.