Needle-free drug delivery device scoops top award
The Glide Solid Dose Injector (SDI), the needle-free drug delivery system that injects drugs in solid dosage form into the skin, has contributed to its manufacturer, Glide Pharma, winning the Best Business Award at the 2007 Medical Futures Innovation Awards.
The competition had attracted over 500 entries. The Best Business Award is given to the overall winner from among the 25 award winners. Glide Pharma located at Milton Park, Oxfordshire, also won the Best Business Proposition Award in the Anaesthesia & Critical Care category, sponsored by Abbott Laboratories.
Ease of use also makes it ideal for self-administration e.g. by diabetics, and the device also eliminates needlestick injury and disposal problems.
Glide Pharma is developing a range of new drug products for use with the system, the first of these to commence clinical trials shortly. This contains the drug octreotide acetate, a top seller from Novartis that recently came ‘off patent’. It is used to treat neuro-endocrine tumours prior to surgery, as well as acromegaly, a chronic condition caused by abnormally high amounts of growth hormone.
Dr Charles Potter, Founder and CEO of Glide Pharma, received the Best Business Award at a glittering ceremony in London. He said the award had come at a time when the company is making excellent progress in production and partnerships, and is advancing the first of its own brand products, and negotiating with many major pharmaceutical partners to co-develop the Glide Solid Dose Injector with their proprietary drugs and vaccines.
The Medical Futures Awards judging panel included leading healthcare experts such as Sir Magdi Yacoub, pioneer of the heart and lung transplant; Baroness Susan Greenfield, Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Oxford; and Sir Richard Sykes, former Chairman and CEO of GlaxoSmithKline and currently Rector of Imperial College. Complemented by business experts, such as Sir Victor Blank, Chairman of Lloyds TSB Group Plc; and Sir Michael Sherwood, Chief Executive of Goldman Sachs, the panel is Europe’s leading think tank on health and business innovation.
Andy Goldberg, founder of Medical Futures, said: ‘Nine out of 10 of the largest medical technology companies are US-based, yet the UK produces some of the world’s best ideas. Medical Futures has demonstrated a strong pipeline of innovations set to become the next high growth area and prove that the UK can be a world beater.’
31.08.2007
