PolyTherics New Premises Opened by Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts
David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, said: “Small, innovative companies are an increasingly important part of the UK’s highly successful life sciences industry. It’s testament to the quality of PolyTherics’ research and development that they have been able to expand into larger premises, and I was delighted to be invited to open their new facility at the London BioScience Innovation Centre.”
Dr Keith Powell, Chief Executive Officer of PolyTherics said: “We are delighted that the Minister was able to formally open our new premises. PolyTherics is at an exciting phase of its growth as it adapts and improves an increasingly varied range of therapeutic proteins and peptides for its partners. We are pleased that LBIC was able to accommodate the expansion of our business as we are keen to stay in London because it provides easy access to our collaborators.”
PolyTherics has been located in LBIC since 2006. The Royal Veterinary College had refurbished part of another building that it owns so that LBIC could provide additional laboratory and office space for PolyTherics. Also attending the opening were Professor Colin Howard, Founder of LBIC, Professor Stuart Reid, Principal of the RVC, and key partners and collaborators of PolyTherics.
PolyTherics
PolyTherics is a biopharmaceutical company that applies precision chemistry to develop improved protein and peptide-based drugs. It has received investment of £5.3 million from Imperial Innovations Group plc, Longbow Capital LLP and The Capital Fund.
PolyTherics has developed three proprietary technologies for attaching the polymer poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to any therapeutic peptide or protein in a targeted fashion. PEGylation slows elimination from the body, thereby improving half-life and potentially reducing drug treatment frequency, decreasing side effects and improving patient compliance. PEGylated products derived from PolyTherics’ technologies are more homogeneous than those derived from traditional methods, resulting in reduced complexity of downstream processing, more consistent product quality and cost-effective manufacture. PEGylation is an established method for improving drugs and nine PEGylated products are already approved for therapeutic use worldwide.
For more information, please visit: www.polytherics.co.uk