• Home
• About us
• Products
• Partnering
• Investors
• Media
• Contact us

• Print page
• Bookmark page
• Email us

Vectura acquires Co-ordinated Drug Development Ltd and assumes responsibility for the Centre for Drug Formulation Studies, to create 30-strong R&D team

Vectura acquires Co-ordinated Drug Development Ltd and assumes responsibility for the Centre for Drug Formulation Studies, to create 30-strong R&D team

Vectura Ltd, who specialise in delivery of drugs with high site specificities, today announced the acquisition of the entire share capital of Coordinated Drug Development Limited (CDD) who focus on the formulation of drugs for inhalation

The merged company will initially focus upon the formulation of drugs for inhalation and the delivery of anticancer drugs but will also broaden its technology base into other areas of drug delivery. Vectura will have 30 research scientists providing development services, through its CDD affiliate, to a number of pharmaceutical companies and working on its own portfolio of intellectual property. In addition Vectura is funding twelve scientists working in the laboratories of key collaborators. The Company intends to rapidly develop its technical service activities and to increase investment in its Intellectual Property. Vectura, which was originally founded in late 1997 by David Gough, in collaboration with Merlin Ventures, will continue to operate from the Cambridge Science Park and the University of Bath. Dr Chris Evans, who co-founded Merlin Ventures, will be Non Executive Chairman. Vectura's founder, David Gough remains Managing Director, Professor John Staniforth will be Chief Scientific Officer and Brian Meakin will continue as Director of Operations responsible for the development services. The other Non Executive Directors are Professor David Davies (Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Bath), David Embleton (Pro-Chancellor at the University of Bath), Professor David Ganderton and Peter Keen (Co-founder of Merlin Ventures). Vectura plans to make further appointments to its executive team during the next few months.

David Gough, Managing Director, said: "I am delighted with this merger which strongly validates the Vectura proposition. CDD and CDFS have an outstanding reputation as leaders in the formulation of inhaled drugs and have developed a very successful business supplying development services to the Pharmaceutical Industry. The depth of their client relationships, scientific credentials of the CDD principals and the strength of the combined company's Intellectual Property portfolio provide an outstanding platform. Together with the unique blend of experience of the team now in place we will be able to create the outstanding drug delivery company of the next generation."

Professor David Davies, Chairman of CDD, said:
"The merger with Vectura enables us to sustain and build upon the business we have created. We will be able to invest more aggressively in the development of Intellectual Property and in the sharing of risks and rewards with our collaborators. I also believe that the company will benefit tremendously from Chris Evans' flair, reputation and high level contacts in the pharmaceutical industry."

Professor George Lunt, Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Bath, said:
"CDFS is definitely a major success story in creating commercial value from academic research. We were delighted that the involvement of Vectura and Merlin Ventures, together with CDD, has enabled us to spin out CDFS into a vehicle which will enable it to continue to grow and develop to the benefit of its collaborators, staff, and the University."

Co-ordinated Drug Development Limited
CDD was founded in 1983 as a vehicle for those research activities of its directors, which were carried out in conjunction with the Pharmaceutical Industry. Since that time it has developed a speciality in formulating inhaled drugs with expertise both in metered dose inhalers (MDI's) and dry powder inhalers (DPI's). As part of its extensive collaborations with Pharmaceutical companies, CDD has developed patents (which are owned by Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA) in the formulation of drugs in HFA's and has invented the PassCaL system which can improve the performance of DPI's. The Directors of CDD are leading academics and authorities in the field of drug delivery, at the time of the merger they were:

• Professor David Davies (Chairman); Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Bath
• Professor David Ganderton; formerly Head of the Department of Pharmacy at Kings College, London and Head of Product Development at ICI Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca)
• Professor Chris Marriot; Professor of Pharmaceutics and Head of the Department of Pharmacy at Kings College, London
• Brian Meakin, Executive Principal of CDFS
• Professor John Staniforth; Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Bath
• Professor Malcolm Stevens, CRC Professor of Experimental Cancer Chemotherapy and Director of the Cancer Research Laboratory at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nottingham

All six former directors will continue their involvement as consultants, non-executive directors or executives in the new company. All the major CDD collaborations are conducted using the staff and facilities of CDFS. The Centre for Drug Formulation Studies (CDFS)

CDFS was set up by the Senate of the University of Bath in 1974. It has operated as a self contained unit within the Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology to provide laboratory based research and consultancy services for the pharmaceutical industry. In its early years, activities were largely focused on the formulation of sterile products including parenterals (injections), ophthalmic preparations and solutions for use with contact lenses. Activities were then widened to include solid dose preparations for oral use (powders, capsules and tablets).
In the late 1980s several programmes concerning the delivery of drugs to the lungs for the treatment of respiratory disease (pulmonary delivery) were undertaken, resulting in a re-focusing of CDFS activities on this area of pharmaceutical science and research. CDFS is internationally recognised for its expertise in the formulation and evaluation of inhaled medicines. It is currently concerned with studies involving new drugs, new devices for the inhalation of powders, inhalation powder formulation and programmes associated with change from chloro-fluoro carbon (CFC) based pressured inhalers to the more environmentally friendly hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) based products. CDFS comprises a self-contained suite of laboratories and offices with access to environmentally controlled rooms for bulk powder handling & tablet compression and an aseptic suite for the preparation of sterile products. CDFS activities include the preparation of materials for Phase I and early Phase II clinical studies. CDFS sponsors are drawn from small, medium and large size pharmaceutical companies. Professor John Staniforth, Chief Scientific Officer

John Staniforth is a pharmacist and chartered chemist. He is Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology and until recently, Head of Pharmaceutics in the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of Bath, England. He received his PhD from the University of Aston in 1980 and his research interests include aspects of powder technology, particle engineering and pharmaceutical technology, related to the design and performance of medicines. Professor Staniforth leads a research team which, includes 10 postdoctoral fellows, 10 graduate research officers and 15 postgraduate students. His research in elucidating fundamental particle interactions has led to developments in the design of new excipients, which provide improved physical and pharmacokinetic performance of tablets. This molecular-level research lead to the discovery of PROSOLV SMCC. Research in the area of dosage form design is a major interest in both oral (sustained and controlled release systems) and aerosol drug delivery. This has lead to development of the controlled release tableting system TIMERx for Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co, New York, USA and the development of the PassCaL technology now owned by Vectura. Another product of Professor Staniforth's research is an electrostatic coating technology and drug deposition technology (LeQtradose), licensed to Phoqus Pharmaceuticals.

Over 150 research articles have been published since 1978. In 1985, he was given the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Award for Scientific Research; in 1986 the Pfizer Award for contributions to pharmaceutical science and in 1987, the Colorcon Award for research in pharmaceutical technology. In 1991, he was elected a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists for research in pharmaceutical technology, in 1992 he was elected a Fellow of the Zoological Society for research in the area of dosage form design for veterinary use, and in 1993, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Professor Staniforth is a non-executive director of Phoqus Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co, NY, USA.

For further information please contact:

Vectura Limited
Peter Virley
Tel: +44 (0)1249 667700
Fax: +44 (0)1249 667701
Email: enquiries@vectura.com

Financial Dynamics
David Yates / Lucy Briggs
Tel: + 44 (0) 207 269 7242