Burdica Biomed launches fertility treatment on back of £200,000

04/06/2009 by admin.

Mark Smith the deputy business editor at The Herald has very kindly given us permission to reproduce this article in full, in our fertility blog. The article was published in The Herald on 15th May 2009 & is about the new fertility lubricant Zestica fertility and the UK company that has developed it Burdica. The Herald is one of Scotland’s leading daily quality newspapers.

The article was written by Mark Smith deputy business editor at The Herald

Here is the article in full:

Scottish life sciences fledgling Burdica Biomed yesterday announced the launch of a new fertility treatment - its first product - on the back of a £200,000 funding round completed at the end of last month.

The product, called Zestica, is the first fertility lubricant using hyaluronic acid, a natural substance the St Andrews-based company is developing for therapeutic applications.

The two-year-old company said it was also developing hyaluronic acid into a product that acts as a kind of “natural botox”.

Hyaluronic acid occurs naturally in between the cells of many types of body tissue in all animals.

It has important functions in different types of tissues, for example, it contributes to the lubricating properties of the fluid in joints, is involved in the repair processes of skin tissue and has a role in creating the elastic properties of cartilage.

The firm said Zestica was focused on the use of hyaluronic acid in enhancing fertility for couples trying to conceive.

The company said the product is the “first fertility lubricant to use the properties of hyaluronic acid in supporting the motility and fertilising capacity of sperm”.

Kevin Burd, the Californian co-founder of the company, yesterday told The Herald that he expected the firm to sell more than one million units of Zestica over the next 12 months, which in turn would generate “a seven- figure sum” for Burdica Biomed.

He said the product, which the company manufactures in Lancaster, had already been awarded European CE Mark approval, and that later this year it will file an application with the US Food and Drug Administration as part of a strategy to “address the USA and other international markets”.

Burd added that Zestica had undergone extensive clinical trials at Dundee’s bioscience hub and he said it had proved more effective than its “one competitor”.

“The product was launched at the beginning of the month and already we’ve had several thousand sales,” he said.

The company’s funding round included £100,000 from the Scottish Government under the SMART programme, with the remainder coming from six unnamed Scottish businessmen.

Asked if Burdica planned to seek further funding, Burd said: “I don’t think we’ll need it. We expect to have enough from our sales alone.”

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Article written by Mark Smith Deputy Business Editor at The Herald
 

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