The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Scientist to raise £1.5m for eczema drug development
DUNDEE UNIVERSITY: Academic wins top prize at Converge Awards held at V&A
A Dundee University scientist who is developing a new way to treat eczema won the top £50,000 prize at this year’s Converge Awards, which were held at the V&A in Dundee.
Dr Andrew Woodland has found a new way to treat the skin disease that is safe for children and does not have the issues associated with steroid drugs.
Along with co-founder Mark Bell, Mr Woodland is planning to raise £1.5 million and form his company, In4Derm, next March.
“We found a new way to treat eczema that can replicate the good things about steroid drugs but won’t have the skin thinning and other problems that steroids have,” he said.
“My nephew has eczema and he really struggles and he’s one of 120 million people with eczema in the developed world.
“We can do a lot with the Converge money but the big thing for me is the reputational validation.
“We are working on our business plan which we will take to investors next month. We have given ourselves six months to raise the £1.5m required to start this journey.”
Mr Woodland said a subsequent funding round of between £10m and £15m would be required for the clinical testing phase.
“The first round of investment will last for 18 months to two years and the second round of investment will take us for another three to five years,” he said.
“At which point we’ll be able to licence one of the products and become revenue-generating.
“There is interest but everything is at an early stage. Dundee University will have an equity stake in the company.”
The Converge Awards is an annual celebration of academic innovation and entrepreneurship for staff, students and recent graduates across all Scottish universities
Runner-up in the Impact Challenge category was Jamie Bankhead of Konglomerate Games, a game developer specialising in gamification in healthcare from Abertay University.
The company’s current prototype, designed in partnership with Microsoft, turns the daily chore of physiotherapy exercise for children with cystic fibrosis into a series of fun computer games.