Midatech sets up drug development arm in Switzerland

Spin-out formed

Nanotechnology specialist Midatech Group has spun out its drugs portfolio with backing from private investors in Switzerland, establishing a new subsidiary, PharMida AG, in Basel.

PharMida has raised CHF 300,000 to start the company, with more money coming in. The aim is to take two products based on Midatech’s nanoparticles through preclinical development and show proof of principle in animal models, paving the way for a formal funding round. The company did not say what the products are, but they consist of its nanoparticles linked to existing marketed drugs.

PharMida’s parent Midatech was set up in 2000 by Thomas Rademacher, Professor of Molecular Medicine at University College London, to design and commercialise work in biocompatible gold nanoparticles developed in Seville, Spain, by a CSIC (Spanish Research Council) group across a range of applications in life sciences, electronics and fine chemicals. The company has manufacturing plant for the particles in Bilbao, Spain.

PharMida will be headed by Jan Mous, former president and CEO of the French molecular diagnostics firm IntegraGen and chaired by Fritz Buhler, a professor in Basel University’s medical school and former head of world wide clinical R&D at F. Hoffman-La Roche.

From Midatech, Thomas Rademacher said: “This is an extremely important step in the development of Midatech and its nanoparticle technology. It is a great privilege to be partnering with such a high calibre team, who between them bring an unrivalled level of expertise and experience in the pharmaceutical sector. I am looking forward to working with Professor Buhler and Dr Mous to develop Midatech’s innovative nanoparticle technology to its full potential.”