Syntropharma secures funding

Syntropharma, which develops existing drug compounds, has raised more than £1 million from a consortium of investors in its first funding round. The money raised will fund expansion and recruitment.

The consortium includes Highland Venture, business angel syndicate Tweed Renaissance Investors Capital (TRI Cap) and Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Co-Investment Fund. The funding has enabled Syntropharma to relocate to a bigger site at Tweed Horizons Business Centre in Newtown St Boswells, Roxburghshire.

Syntropharma was founded in 2005 by chief executive Andrew Gardiner and non-executive director David McHoul. According to Gardiner, the company aims to get products to market within four years. This is faster than companies testing new drugs, which can take about 12 years.

Gardiner says: 'The traditional model of a pharmaceutical business is to invest huge amounts of money in researching and testing new drugs but this can take years and is very risky for investors. We recognise that there are lots of drugs currently available that could be improved by reformulation. This often significantly enhances their usefulness for both doctors and patients.'

TRI Cap’s Sam Taylor and Richard Aird have become chairman and a non-executive director of Syntropharma respectively. Richard Aird, the chief executive of biopharmaceutical company Haptogen, is also joining the company as a non-executive director.