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MBI Bright Sparks
08/08/2008
CellAura Technologies Ltd – a spin out from the University of Nottingham and located in BioCity in Nottingham – is a provider of innovative screening products for the drug discovery industry.
Catapult has invested up to £550,000 into the company and introduced David George to the business, who has joined the board as an independent Non Executive Director.
The company’s unique technology allows increased speed, reduced cost, greater accuracy and a superior safety profile relative to the existing technology in the field.
Catapult completed an investment into drug development company Haemostatix Limited in April as part of a £1.2m funding package provided with existing investors Spark Ventures and NESTA.
The investment will enable Haemastatix to progress development of HaemoPlax™, a synthetic platelet substitute designed to replace platelets currently obtained from blood donation. Donor platelets, given by transfusion, assist in blood clotting and are currently used to treat cancer and surgical patients at risk from severe bleeding.
Haemostatix also announced the appointment of a new chief executive, Dr. Ben Nichols and a new independent non-executive director, Dr. Grahaem Brown.
Nottingham-based R5 Pharmaceuticals, one of the most exciting new biotech/pharmaceutical services companies in the UK, received funding of £250K from Catapult Venture Managers in 2007 to help take the business to the next stage of development.
Alongside the funding from Catapult – managers of the East Midlands Regional Venture Capital Fund – there have been investments from the R5 management team and BioCity, where the company is located.
R5 delivers appropriate solutions for the development of safe and effective pharmaceuticals materials to be used in clinical studies. R5 is applying its expertise to paediatric products and the new and rapidly evolving area of nutraceuticals, both of which are coming under increasing pharmaceutical regulation.
R5’s state-of-the-art facilities include one of the very few cleanrooms in Europe, ensuring the highest level of sterile product development. This is absolutely essential in clinical development to ensure that the final product will provide therapeutic benefits to the patient whilst maintaining its safety in humans,
Jonathan Earl, Investment Manager with Catapult Venture Managers, commented: “The future for R5 is very exciting. The business has a very strong management team with a proven track record and many decades of experience between them. Their knowledge of the sector and their contact base should prove invaluable in moving the business forward.”
The R5 team is led by Dr. Ian Wilding, non-executive chairman with more than 20 years experience as a pharmaceutical scientist and entrepreneur in the bioscience community; and Paul Titley, the company’s chief executive officer who has worked in the development and manufacture of pharmaceuticals for over 30 years.
Submitted by Sarah Crennell