Bio Nano Consulting Signs Agreement With The School Of Pharmacy, Bio Nano Consulting And Clinches First Phase 1 Cancer Drug Formulation Contract
At the same time, BNC has already utilised the new arrangement to secure a contract with an undisclosed US-based biotechnology company. Under the terms of the agreement, BNC will manage a specific project, carried out by scientists at the School of Pharmacy, to formulate a phase I cancer drug with the goal of making the treatment orally available, rather than delivered intravenously. The four month proof of concept project is intended to demonstrate dissolution and oral availability and, once successful, will progress to a second project stage with School scientists working closely with the biotechnology company to take the formulation through to late-stage development. Undisclosed licensing and milestone terms have been agreed between the School and the client, subject to formulation success.
The School’s strong scientific resources are entirely complementary to BNC’s existing nanotechnology and bioengineering services, provided through the London Centre for Nanotechnology at University College London (UCL) and Imperial College London respectively. In particular at the School, Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu is one of the leading experts in the combined areas of nanoscience, nanotechnology, drug delivery, polymer chemistry, molecular self assembly and gene delivery. Prof. Uchegbu has developed a suite of nanotechnology formulation IP, which has demonstrated proof of concept by delivering other gut labile drugs and poorly water soluble drugs, both of which are extremely difficult to deliver via this route.
The School’s research primarily focuses on both advancing and understanding medicines and health care whilst also creating new medicines for the healthcare sector. It is organised into four divisions comprising Drug Discovery, Neurosciences, Formulation Sciences and Medicines Use and Health. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 90 per cent of the School’s research activity was deemed internationally significant with 25 per cent considered world-leading.
Commenting on the SLA and the contract with the US biotech company, BNC’s CEO, Dr David Sarphie, commented: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to increase our extensive service offering in the field of pharmaceutical development and look forward to utilising The School of Pharmacy’s long tradition of excellence in research and its academic expertise. The SLA significantly expands our established pool of world class scientists that we manage and draw upon for specific life science projects, including cancer research. It adds high level additional skill sets to those already provided through academics at Imperial, UCL and the London Centre for Nanotechnology”.
He added: “Indeed, the pace with which we have already secured the first contract with a biotechology company to apply the IP on offer at SoP, is testament to the standing in which The School of Pharmacy is held and the strength of the formulation technology that has been developed.”
Bill Lindsay, Business Development Manager for the School of Pharmacy said “We are very pleased to announce entry into this SLA with BNC. We believe that through this partnership access for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to the School’s expertise will be significantly enhanced”.
About Bio Nano Consulting
Bio Nano Consulting is a joint venture of Imperial College London and University College London that specialises in delivering innovative solutions to industry across the life sciences and technology sectors. We are the first consultancy in Europe to focus on the intersection between bio and nanotechnology, providing product development and strategic consultancy, project management and access to state of the art instrumentation and world-leading researchers. Through its partner organisations of UCL, Imperial College, the National Physical Laboratory, and now the School of Pharmacy, University of London, BNC offers services to the biomedical, healthcare and technology industries.
About The School of Pharmacy, University of London
The School of Pharmacy, University of London is the only free-standing specialist school in the UK dedicated entirely to teaching and research in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences. It provides world-class teaching at undergraduate and post-graduate levels and has a top-rated research quality profile. The School’s mission is to lead in education, research and healthcare policy, providing benefit to society through the development of new medicines and the advancement of healthcare provision.
www.pharmacy.ac.uk
Commercialisation of the School’s research is performed by its subsidiary, Pharmovation Limited www.pharmovation.com
For more information, please contact Tristan Jervis or Alex Heeley on 00 44 207 861 3838 or e-mail t.jervis@defacto.com.