Proveca secures £2.6m from Albion Ventures
Specialist developer of new treatments for children with chronic medical conditions
A UK developer of new drugs to treat children with chronic medical conditions has secured a £2.6m investment from venture capitalist Albion Ventures.
Proveca, which is based in the Enterprise Zone at Sci-Tech Daresbury, Cheshire, was established in 2010. It is a specialist pharmaceutical company focused on the re-engineering of existing generic medicines to make them appropriate for use by young people. The company is currently developing drugs for treating cardiology, neurology and pain management.
Simon Bryson and Helen Shaw established the business following the sale of the founding directors’ former company, Auralis, to Viropharma in 2010.
Bryson said: ‘We are excited to have gained the backing of Albion whose expertise in the healthcare space convinced us that they would be ideal partners. This deal will enable us to take our pipeline of new products through clinical development and, ultimately, authorisation and licensing for use across Europe.
This deal will enable us to take our pipeline of new products through clinical development
‘We have a proven track record of successfully taking complex products from conception to commercialisation, with a specific focus on ensuring the availability and appropriate presentation of important medicinal products which will address unmet medical needs.’
Dr Shaw added: ‘The re-engineering of non-patent drugs to deliver a product developed specifically for children – rather than young people having to take drugs initially designed for adults – is a great unmet need in modern medicine.
‘For those children with long-term conditions in particular, the development of such drugs to make them more pleasant to take or easier to administer, with the supporting clinical evidence of use, can deliver massive improvements in quality of life and care.’
Sci-Tech Daresbury is a world class location for high-tech business and leading edge science. It assumed Enterprise Zone status last April.
Dr Andrew Elder, Partner and Head of Healthcare at Albion Ventures, said: ‘Healthcare is an important area within Albion’s portfolio and it provides tremendous opportunities for growth in a climate of economic uncertainty. It’s a sector where there is increasing need for efficiency and wide demand for new technologies. For Albion, the timing is right to continue to invest in this sector and we have the expertise to identify companies such as Proveca that are ideally positioned for rapid growth.’
