The $750,000 investment will provide extra capacity for the Guildford, UK-based contract research and development company in order to offer its proprietary in vitro / ex vivo performance and equivalence testing models to its clients globally.
There has been a lot of recent movement by traditional dermatologic companies as they look to find and launch new products. MedPharm’s CEO Andrew Muddle said in a press release “traditional players in the prescription field are all on acquisition sprees, the latest being the interesting tussle between Valeant and Merz over Obagi.”
When asked by Outsourcing-Pharma.com if pharma companies growing by acquisition would be a threat to third-party development, he said “the skill set to development dermatology is a skill and knowhow which takes years to build up,” and is thus one which will keep companies like MedPharm in constant demand.
He also noted that there had been an increase in interest in OTC skincare products from big pharma companies including Merck Consumer Healthcare, GSK Consumer and Johnson & Johnson.
Such movement within the industry has been the driving force for the opening of the GLP laboratory which offers skin permeation and skin penetration, and in vitro release testing (IVRT) services for topical formulations.
The new facility will also increase capacity in microbiological services including ex vivo / in vitro efficacy testing for conditions such as acne, plus the development of new drug formulations for inflammatory skin conditions, such as psoriasis.
With many areas of pharma moving their R&D to third-parties in emerging markets, Muddle told this publication that MedPharm did not fear competition as “simple development is being done in India and China, not topical.”
Last August, MedPharm partnered with Molecular Profiles to manufacture topical medicine for clinical trials. However, this new laboratory and expansion is, according to Muddle, “nothing to do with them or our relationship.”