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Nicotine patch developers receive £550,000 investment

A nicotine patch developer based in Bristol has received a £550,000 investment from the North West Fund for Biomedical.

The funding was awarded after TTS Pharma created an innovative “CBx” patch that helps people to quit smoking using a Companion Diagnostic blood test that prescribes a tailored nicotine dose to the user.

TTS Pharma’s product gives quitters a much higher chance of giving up smoking, which has been recognised by the fund, while costs will be reduced for healthcare providers as quit rates rise and general health improves.

North West Fund for Biomedical’s investment is part of a larger round of funding made up of £260,000 in capital investment and £130,000 from angel investors and current management, with a further sum in the pipeline from key individuals before the end of 2012.

TTS Pharma, which will be relocating from its South West base to the Liverpool Science Park in 2013, has launched its product into a global market worth around $2bn.

The fund, which is managed by SPARK Impact, is part of the £155m North West Fund that is jointly financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the European Investment Bank.

Mark Tucker, CEO of TTS Pharma, commented: “We are delighted that The North West Fund for Biomedical has recognised the impact that personalised medicine can bring to patients and providers alike.

“We can now simultaneously offer both a cheaper and clinically more effective treatment introducing major savings and allowing budgets to be redistributed more fairly.”

Senior Investment Director at SPARK Impact, Dr Penny Attridge, said: “As the NHS and healthcare continues to change the way it prescribes and pays for treatment, “TTS has a solution which will be in the vanguard of the innovative interventions they must adopt to limit unnecessary overspend and contribute to greater efficiencies.

“CDx patches could have a profound effect on the provision of care in this area and we are excited about what lies ahead.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .