NOTTINGHAM, England, November 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Critical Pharmaceuticals, the speciality pharmaceuticals company, today announced that it had successfully closed a third round of investment totalling GBP650,000. Based on the company’s success in developing its unique CriticalMix delivery technology and matching pipeline of candidate drugs, the funding was fully supported by existing shareholders. The company has now raised in excess of GBP2 million in investment and grants since its formation in 2004 as a spin-out from Nottingham University. It also follows the recent announcement of preclinical results for a sustained release somatropin formulation, which demonstrated considerable advantages over existing once-daily products.
Lisbeth Illum, Chief Executive Officer Critical Pharmaceuticals welcomed the new round: “The new funds will be used to advance the development of our pipeline of candidate drugs and drug delivery technologies, secure and develop our intellectual property portfolio and invest in our business development capability to secure partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Already we are attracting growing interest from leading names who can see the advantages of using our drug delivery technology platforms across their drug pipelines. We believe this points to an exciting future for investors and employees. We are also delighted to have attracted new investors in this round as well as the continuing and invaluable support from East Midlands Business Angels (EMBA) and the University of Nottingham who have been with us from the start.”
This confidence was mirrored by one of the lead investors, Jonathan Earl, Investment Director with Catapult Venture Managers: “We believe Critical Pharmaceuticals represents an exciting opportunity. The CriticalMix drug delivery technology not only provides pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with the opportunity to enhance their own products, but also opens the possibility of Critical developing its own pipeline of differentiated drug products. We look forward to providing support in the company’s growth.”
Existing investor, Nick Wright, Fund Manager of the East Midlands Early Growth Fund at E-Synergy was naturally pleased with the company’s continued success: “For us, Critical Pharmaceuticals is an ideal showcase for the region’s excellence in pharmaceutical services. By combining worldclass research with knowledge of the real needs of the pharmaceutical sector, Critical Pharmaceuticals has made rapid progress. We now welcome the involvement of new investors to help take the company through the next exciting stage of its development.”
About Critical Pharmaceuticals
Critical Pharmaceuticals is a Nottingham UK-based biotechnology company with proprietary drug delivery technologies for the sustained release and nasal delivery of proteins and peptides and labile or insoluble small molecules. Critical Pharmaceuticals was founded by Professor Steve Howdle in 2002 based on his world leading research into supercritical fluids. Professor Howdle noticed that supercritical carbon dioxide was able to liquify certain polymers, and in a moment of inspiration realised that this could be used to encapsulate thermally labile or solvent sensitive drugs to create injectable sustained release products. As well as working in partnership with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, the company is now developing a pipeline of reformulated drug candidates for areas of unmet needs including human growth hormone. For more information visit http://www.criticalpharmaceuticals.com
CONTACT: Corporate Inquiries: Lisbeth Illum, Chief Executive Officer,
Critical Pharmaceuticals, BioCity Nottingham, NG1 1GF, UK, Tel
+44-115-8820100; +44-7710-314-383. Email: lisbeth.illum@illumdavis.com;
Media Inquiries: Richard Hayhurst, Hayhurst Media, Tel +44(0)7711821527,
Email: richard@hayhurstmedia.com
