Scots drug-delivery system firm raises £2m for scale-up

A SCOTTISH company that has developed a timed drug-delivery system has raised £2 million to scale up its business, and plans to nearly double its workforce, writes Ian Mcconnell.

Bio-images Drug Delivery (BDD), based at Glasgow and Newhouse in Lanarkshire, is increasing its 18-strong workforce by 15 with the creation of jobs in sales and marketing, manufacturing, and quality assurance and control over the next 12 months.

BDD, which has developed the Oralogik precision timed drug-delivery system, has raised the funding from business angel syndicate Archangels and taxpayerbacked Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Investment Bank arm.

The system enables the oral delivery of single, multi-dose or combination drugs at pre-determined times between one and 12 hours after being swallowed by the patient.

BDD said its technology offered “tremendous opportunities”, including night-time dosing of a drug to be delivered before a patient wakes up.

It also cited potential for multi-phased delivery of one or more drugs, immediate and delayed. The firm noted this could allow once-a-day dosing or pre-treatment by one drug before the delivery of a second.

BDD cited the opportunity to deliver drugs to specific regions of the digestive system, such as the colon.

The company said it would use the funding to purchase processing and analytical equipment for the large-scale manufacture of Oralogik. BDD said this would allow it to develop its own timedrelease products for

“improved patient outcomes”.

Kerry Sharp, director of the Scottish Investment Bank, said: “Life sciences is a key sector for Scottish Enterprise and Scotland, and it’s great to see BDD raising the funds required to expand its business.”

Sarah Hardy, investment director at Archangels, said: “We are confident that Oralogik could become a game changer for drugs that will be more effective with delayed or phased delivery.

“We believe that this unique precision delivery technology has the capability of being a global success story for patients and clinicians alike.”