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Virexxa is meant for the treatment of IVth stadium endometrial cancer. It is a rare type of cancer that has 25,000 women a year in Europe suffering from it. In Estonia, six women a year could need Virexxa.

Estonian Cancer Research Technology Development Centre manager Riin Ehin said that large pharmaceuticals companies are unwilling to develop medicines for rare types of cancer since the market volume is not big enough for them. The 10 billion dollar market is attractive for Estonia though.

66 million euros was invested in Pharmsynthes, parent firm of Kevelt, which is the partner company of the Cancer Research Technology Development Centre, in order to produce Virexxa in Estonia. "The current decision of these companies is that 8 million of this investment will come to Estonia over the next two years and it will be spent to erect a production unit where medicine candidates for the European Union and U.S. markets would be produced," said Ehin.

Virexxa is initially a medicine candidate until it receives a sales permit, which in Estonia is granted by the Pharmaceuticals Board together with the European Pharmaceuticals Board.

"Our current plans show that we should receive the real sales permit in around 1.5-2 years time," said AS Kevelt board member Allan Ahtloo.

North Estonian Regional Hospital board chairman Tõnis Allik says that it is of symbolic importance for Estonian bio-technology that a candidate medicine developed here will also be produced here. "In current case the so-called orphan medicines are a niche option for a small country like Estonia to prove itself and not sell the development to large companies, just like it is Kevelt's plan today, but stay the final medicine producer to supply European and American hospitals," said Allik.

In the cooperation of Cancer Research Technology Development Centre and Kevelt, another medicine is in the stage of clinical trials, Oncohist, against rare types of leukaemia.