Spin-out aims to become biotech giant
● Dundee drug specialist targeting better treatment for likes of eczema
The team behind a University of Dundee spin- out are hop - ing to turn it into a biotech firm worth hundreds of millions of pounds by helping to treat people with serious inflammatory conditions.
In4derm describes itself as a drug discovery company developing the next generation of topical and oral therapies for widespread inflammatory conditions, in cluding eczema and rheumatoid arthritis. It has attracted more than £2 million in pre - company grants and investment, and took top prize at the 2019 Converge Awards, Scotland’s largest company-creation programme designed for staff, students and recent graduates across all Scottish universities.
The firm was founded by Andrew Woodland and Mark Bell, medicinal chemists at the university’s School of Life Sciences, and will be led by veteran biotech entrepreneur Tim Sparey as chief executive.
It will have four staff initially, with plans to expand significantly as it moves towards its goal of making safe and effective anti-inflammatory drugs available for patients.
The firm said steroid creams are frequently prescribed for skin diseases, but can cause serious side-effects as well as proving inadequate to bring diseases such as psoriasis and eczema under control. Patients may then be referred for more intensive treatment.
In4derm said there is therefore a major unmet need for new treatments, and the firm has identified a new approach it hopes to bring into clinical trials in the next few years.
Woodland, who received the top prize of £78,000 in the
Converge Challenge category at the Converge 2019 Awards final, said: “The issue is that steroid cream sand avail able oral treatments are not suitable for long-term treatment of eczema in adults, and many children with eczema are undertreated due to safety concerns, which is distressing for them and their parents.
“We have discovered two promising prototype drugs that we will now refine before progressing through into clinical trials. One is a pill and the other is a non-steroid cream.
The work we have carried out to this point suggests our cream could be superior both in terms of safety and efficacy than current creams, whilst the pill seems to be safer than existing systemic treatment.
“Across the world there are lots of drugs in development for eczema but we are the first to target this particular mechanism, which we believe will be safer and more effective, offering the benefits of steroids without the risk.”
In 4 Derm will initially be funded through sources such as Scottish Enterprise’s High Growth Spin-out Programme (HGSP). Scottish Enterprise (SE) will continue to work with In4derm via its High Growth Ventures team. The HGSPs upports the commercialisation of leading-edge technologies emerging from Scotland’s universities, research institutes and NHS boards.
Abigail Lyons, HGSP pro - gramme manager at SE, said: “It’s great to see the fantastic progress In4derm has made over the three years that our [HGSP] has supported its commercial and technical development, including our recent investment of a £200,000 convertible loan.”
She added: “We look forward to seeing the company’s continued growth and to exploring how we can work together in the future.”
“The work we have carried out to this point suggests our cream could be superior both in terms of safety and efficacy than current creams”
ANDREW WOODLAND