U.S. headquarters of Biocontrol International Inc. established out of Virginia BioTechnology Research Park
Richmond, Va. – As part of its ongoing development, Biocontrol Ltd. of London has established a U.S.-based affiliate, Biocontrol International Inc. Based at the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park in Richmond, Va., the new company is intended to facilitate activities in the important U.S. market and will support both U.S.-based collaborations and a range of development activities.
“This is a vital step in developing Biocontrol’s world-leading products in the important U.S. market and is planned to support a range of collaborations with expert researchers. Richmond provides an ideal location for Biocontrol International to establish its operations, offering a winning combination of accessibility, practicality and expandability,” said David Harper, founder and chief scientific officer of Biocontrol Ltd.
Biocontrol’s lead product is a specific preparation of bacteriophages that destroy Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is common throughout the environment and can cause serious health problems when it infects humans. There are more than 5 million cases of pseudomonas infection in Europe, the U.S. and Japan each year, many of which are highly resistant to antibiotics. Multi-drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MRPA) is increasingly common, creating an expanding unmet need in an area of critical importance to human health.
Biocontrol has selected Pseudomonas aeruginosa as its lead target for a bacteriophage therapeutic as it represents an important market segment for “superbug” infections. Pseudomonas is difficult to eradicate and is associated with high levels of disease in hospitals, the community and cystic fibrosis sufferers around the world.
This product has now completed human Phase I/IIa clinical trials in the United Kingdom. Following the completion of this trial, the company intends to address other therapeutic areas in which Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major concern — notably lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients and infected leg ulcers — and is seeking regulatory approvals for further clinical trials in these areas.
“The Virginia BioTechnology Research Park is pleased to welcome Biocontrol as a new tenant, adding to our complement of international companies at the Park,” said Robert T. Skunda, president and CEO of the Park. “Biocontrol Ltd. is representative of the cutting-edge science and technology found in life science research parks like the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park that will dramatically improve human health care in the years to come.”
About the Park: The Virginia BioTechnology Research Park is currently home to a unique mix of more than 55 public and private bioscience companies, research institutes affiliated with the VCU Medical Center and major state and national medical laboratories. These companies are housed in nine buildings totaling more than 1.1 million square feet of space, representing an employee base that exceeds 2,000. The Virginia Biosciences Development Center is the Research Park’s business assistance program located in its 27,000-square-foot incubator. Since opening in 1995, 67 companies have started in the Park’s incubator facility — 40 of which have graduated into larger spaces in the Park or greater Richmond community. The Park’s Commercialization Center has been created to take incubator graduates through commercialization to M&A or IPO, giving the Park’s tenants full-scale business assistance. The Commercialization Center is now the home of eight companies from the Israeli life science community and continues to expand its resource base. It has created alliances with leading incubators in Israel. To date, the Park’s incubator has graduated three companies that are now publicly traded.
Contact
Courtney L. Skunda
Virginia BioTechnology Research Park
Phone: (804) 827-2137
E-mail: cskunda@vabiotech.com
Web site: www.vabiotech.com
