13 November 2008 - Article by Nottingham Evening Post

LEADING pharmaceutical companies are showing increasing interest in the work of a Nottingham biotechnology firm.

Critical Pharmaceuticals, which is based at BioCity, has carried out years of research into advanced methods of delivering drugs through methods like biodegradable capsules.

Led by Dr Alan Raymond and Prof Steve Howdle, Critical Pharmaceuticals has been trying to overcome the problems caused by drug processing methods that may leave toxic residues.

The technology is of particular relevance to people with conditions that require regular injections, such as people who have to take daily hormone injections to tackle growth disorders.

Critical Pharmaceuticals' technology would allow the drug to be injected via a slow-release capsule that contains enough growth hormone for a month.

Lisbeth Illum, who is chief executive of the company, said: "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."

Investors have decided to put their weight behind the company. It has attracted £2 million of funding since its launch in 2004, a third round of investment adding £650,000 to the kitty.

This confidence was mirrored by one of the lead investors, Jonathan Earl, investment director with Catapult Venture Managers who said: "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."

Lisbeth Illum added: "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."

Critical Pharmaceuticals is one of 28 spin-out companies that started life with research projects at the University of Nottingham.

It was based on Prof Howdle's world-leading research into supercritical fluids.