London, UK, 4 March 2008. PolyTherics Ltd (“PolyTherics”), a biopharmaceutical spin-out company from Imperial College London and the London School of Pharmacy that specialises in the targeted application of polymers to biopharmaceuticals, today announced the expansion of its collaboration with Biocompatibles International plc (“Biocompatibles”), a leading medical technology company in the field of drug device combination products.
Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, PolyTherics will explore the biological effects on proteins of Biocompatibles’ proprietary phosphorylcholine (“PC”) drug delivery technology. This new study builds on the companies’ established success in applying their respective technologies to the development of protein-based products.
PolyTherics has also granted Biocompatibles an option to develop and commercialise PC-based products utilising PolyTherics’ proprietary linker technology and intellectual property. Upon the exercise of its option and entry into a product commercialisation agreement, Biocompatibles will pay PolyTherics a royalty on net income resulting from PC-based products that utilise PolyTherics’ technology. No financial details were disclosed.
Dr Keith Powell, Chief Executive Officer of PolyTherics, said: “We are very pleased to extend our collaboration with Biocompatibles, as it has already proved to be highly productive and successful. The future prospect of Biocompatibles exploiting our collaboration IP to commercialise products is an exciting step towards our shared vision of creating novel and effective biopharmaceuticals.”
Dr Peter Stratford, Managing Director of Biocompatibles’ Farnham Product Development Centre, commented: “PolyTherics has been able to provide valuable complementary skills to those of the team here and we look forward to continuing the projects together.”
Editors Notes PolyTherics press enquiries to: Margaret Henry, PR Consultant. Tel: +44 (0) 1865 811199 E-mail: m.henry@oxin.co.uk Biocompatibles press enquiries to: Dr Peter Stratford, Managing Director. Tel: +44 (0) 1252 732732
About PolyTherics Ltd
Founded in 2002, PolyTherics is a spin-out company from Imperial College London and the London School of Pharmacy that is dedicated to using biomedical polymers to optimise pharmaceuticals for the treatment and cure of disease. PolyTherics has developed and patented an innovative approach to PEGylation, known as TheraPEG™, to prolong the half-life of proteins for development as biopharmaceuticals for use in drug development. PEGylation is the process by which Polyethylene Glycol is attached to proteins and peptides to modify their pharmacokinetic properties. PEGylation increases the residence time of substances administered into the bloodstream, thereby potentially reducing the frequency of treatment, decreasing side effects and improving patient compliance. For example, PEGylated interferon used to treat Hepatitis C can be injected once per week, rather than three times per week in non-PEGylated form. PolyTherics received initial funding of £850,000 from the Wellcome Trust (now Catalyst Biomedica) and the Bloomsbury BioSeed Fund. The Company secured a further investment of £2.3 million from Imperial Innovations Group plc, Longbow Capital LLP and The Capital Fund in June 2007. For further information: www.polytherics.co.uk
