New company Collbio acquired the assets of Angel Biomedical, a subsidiary of biopharmaceutical contract manufacturer Angel Biotechnology Holdings; Angel Biomedical was only formed last May. Collbio was set up by life science financiers Diagnostic Capital, together with former senior management team members Stewart White and Ross Andrews.
From its site in Glasgow, Collbio will focus on manufacturing medical-grade collagen components for the regenerative medicine, in vitro diagnostics, and medical device markets. The facility, comprising both Grade C and Grade B clean rooms, is 6,500 square feet and had historically been used for the production of collagen even before Angel Biomedical started using it.
“The growing requirement for collagen worldwide as an established biomaterial across a wide range of therapeutic and diagnostic applications presents exciting opportunities for Collbio,” White, who becomes CEO of the new company, commented. “We have already secured our first major contract in the form of a supply agreement with U.S.-based Cardium Therapeutics for the manufacture of formulated collagen for Cardium’s FDA cleared Excellagen® product.”
Just last May, Angel Biomedical had forged an agreement with Cardium Therapeutics, the contract value of which was said to be in excess of £400,000 (nearly $605,000) over the initial 12-month period, and, like the Collbio contract, also covered the manufacture of formulated collagen for Excellagen. Excellagen is a professional-use high molecular weight fibrillar bovine Type I topical gel (2.6%) specifically engineered as an adjunct to debridement for the management of diabetic foot ulcers and other dermal wounds.
“The underlying strength of the collagen business in particular led to our involvement,” Alex Clarkson, principal at Diagnostic Capital, added. “With the new set-up and financing in place we believe the business is extremely well placed to become a lead provider for customers in both established and growing markets.”
