Bial is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in S. Mamede do Coronado, in Trofa

Trofa

Trofa Municipality is located in the north of the Oporto metropolitan area in Portugal. The city of Trofa is composed of two parishes with a population of 20,692; the municipality made of 8 parishes has a population of 37,416 ....

, Porto district

Porto District

The District of Porto , sometimes Oporto in English, is located on the north-west coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Porto, the second largest city in the country...

, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

. It was founded in 1924, being among the largest companies of its kind in Portugal.

Bial is today an International Pharmaceutical Group. Its products are to be found 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.

Research and products

In 2008, Bial completed clinical evaluation of BIA 2-093 (Eslicarbazepine acetate

Eslicarbazepine acetate

Eslicarbazepine acetate is an antiepileptic drug. It is a prodrug which is activated to eslicarbazepine , an active metabolite of oxcarbazepine....

), a new drug for the adjunctive use in partial seizures in adults with epilepsy

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...

. It is marketed as Zebinix or Exalief in Europe and as Stedesa in America.

Fundação Bial

Established in 1994, the Bial Foundation Scientific Research Grants have become increasingly popular. Forty-eight applications were received in 1994, and by 2002 this figure had risen to 149, while 169 projects were submitted in 2004. Several projects have already been supported, involving many researchers from over 21 countries.