APC Ltd, a new pharmaceutical research and technologies company, has won the NovaUCD 2011 Start-Up Award after being declared overall winner of the 16th NovaUCD Campus Company Development Programme.
APC provides pharmaceutical processing technologies and customised solutions to pharmaceutical companies that require the delivery of their medicines to the global market in a lean, reliable and robust manner. APC’s unique solutions allow its clients to reduce the risk, cost and time to market for new and existing pharmaceutical medicines.
APC, which plans to create 20 predominantly high-skill jobs within the next two-years, was also presented with a prize fund worth €17,500.
The company, co-founded earlier this year by Professor Brian Glennon and Dr Mark Barrett as a spin-out from UCD’s School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, already includes many of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in the world on its client list.
Professor Brian Glennon and Dr Mark Barrett, co-founders, APC
By integrating its advanced engineering and scientific competencies APC enables pharmaceutical companies to deliver their medicines to market in a quicker, leaner, more reliable and more cost effective manner. It does so by providing these companies with engineering and technology solutions which deliver cycle time improvements, yield and capacity increases, improved impurity reductions, better control of product characteristics and reductions in batch rejections.
APC has already hired 3 permanent, PhD qualified engineers and chemists. The company, which is generating significant revenues, plans to grow staff levels to 20 by 2013. The vast majority of these jobs will be at PhD level with individuals also having pharmaceutical technology and process development expertise.
Ireland is currently the largest exporter of pharmaceutical compounds in the world with approximately $50 billion worth of compounds exported annually. This accounts for almost 50% of total Irish exports. APC has cemented its position within this substantial, yet local market, with a number of high profile Irish pharmaceutical companies already amongst its clients. APC has also expanded internationally and acquired clients in pharmaceutical manufacturing, research and technology divisions throughout mainland Europe and in the USA.
APC is currently investing in technology research and development and plans to launch additional products, services and processing technologies to the market in 2013.
Professor Brian Glennon joined the UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering in 1995. Prior to joining UCD he worked as a Chemical Engineer in Merck Sharp & Dohme. He is leader of the UCD Pharmaceutical Process Engineering Research Group and Deputy Director of the Solid State Pharmaceutical cluster a Science Foundation Ireland-funded Strategic Research Cluster.
Dr Mark Barrett joined the UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering in 2009. Previously he worked as a Process Development Engineer in Schering-Plough. Since joining the UCD Pharmaceutical Process Engineering Research Group he has led national and international industrial research activities.
In addition to the NovaUCD 2011 Start-Up Award, APC was also presented with a cheque for €5,000, €6,000 worth of professional services from Deloitte, €3,000 worth of legal services from Arthur Cox, €1,000 worth of business and taxation consultancy from Delaney Financial Consultancy and NewMarket Partnership and six-months free desk space at NovaUCD. APC will also receive a year’s free subscription to AccountsIQ software which allows SMEs to manage their entire accounting requirements via the internet.
185 new ventures and 290 individuals have now completed the NovaUCD Campus Company Development Programme (CCDP), which is supported by Enterprise Ireland, and which has run annually since 1996. The aim of this Programme is to assist UCD academic and research entrepreneurs in the establishment and development of new high-tech ventures to commercialise the output of their research activities. The programme assists participants in defining, developing and transforming their innovative ideas into sound and commercially feasible new ventures and in preparing detailed business plans.
Speaking at the Awards ceremony, Professor Peter Clinch, UCD Vice-President for Innovation said, “The participation of researchers on this key new venture support programme to establish, grow and develop high-tech and knowledge-intensive companies, is of critical importance for the development of a sustainable smart economy in Ireland. The ventures that were showcased on this year’s CCDP are being established to translate innovative ideas arising from UCD research programmes into value-added products and services.” He added, “These ventures will in time also lead to the generation of highly-skilled employment opportunities and I am delighted to see that APC, the overall winner, plans to generate 20 such jobs by 2013.”
Two other ventures, ForkStream and Equilume, participating on this year’s Programme,received runner-up awards, cheques for €3,000 and €2,000 along with €2,000 and €1,000 worth of legal services from Arthur Cox respectively in addition to six-months free desk space at NovaUCD.
ForkStream, a new ICT venture, is developing a disruptive technology to allow mobile network operators to cost effectively and seamlessly offload smart phone traffic to any available WiFi network. The promoters of ForkStream are Dr John Fitzpatrick and Dr Hamid Nafaa, researchers in UCD’s School of Computer Science and Informatics.
Dr John Fitzpatrick, co-promoter ForkStream
Equilume, a new equine biotech venture, is developing a novel light therapy solution, the Equilume Light Mask, to assist Thoroughbred breeders in maximising the reproductive efficiency of their mares. The promoter of Equilume is Dr Barbara Murphy, a researcher in UCD’s School of Agriculture and Food Science.
Dr Barbara Murphy, promoter, Equilume
Congratulating all the participants on this year's programme, John O’Dea, HPSU Department Manager, Life Sciences said, "Enterprise Ireland is delighted to recognise the high level of entrepreneurial activity being undertaken in NovaUCD and to partner with NovaUCD in supporting the establishment of new market-led businesses. The enterprises which have completed this year’s CCDP have demonstrated great ingenuity in commercialising innovative technologies. They represent an essential element in realising the full commercial potential of the significant investment in research and development being made by the Irish Government.” He added, “Enterprise Ireland looks forward to supporting the success of this year's participants and assisting them to realise their full commercial potential.”
The NovaUCD 2011 Campus Company Development Programme Awards Evening was an Innovation Dublin 2011 event.
ENDS
18 November 2011
For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications Manager (Innovation), UCD e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie, t: +353 1 716 3712.
Editor’s Notes
The NovaUCD Campus Company Development Programme (CCDP) is a nine-month, part-time programme designed to suit the busy timetable of researchers and academics. It offers a mix of monthly workshops, mentoring and one-to-one consultancy and is delivered by NovaUCD staff, with support from the NovaUCD sponsors, Enterprise Ireland, as well as other outside experts. It is designed to assist academic entrepreneurs in the establishment and development of knowledge-intensive enterprises by providing the skills necessary to transform innovative ideas into commercially feasible ventures via the development of a business plan. Participants on the programme have the opportunity to access NovaUCD’s desk space and incubation facilities and associated services.
NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre, is the hub of knowledge transfer activities at University College Dublin. NovaUCD is responsible for the commercialisation of intellectual property arising from UCD research and for the development of co-operation with industry and business. NovaUCD has been funded through a unique public-private partnership that includes AIB Bank, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, UCD and Xilinx. www.ucd.ie/nova.
The NovaUCD Campus Company Development Programme Award Trophy has been designed by Colm Brennan, Sculptor. The award consists of a black Kilkenny limestone arrow-head form pierced by three metal bars, which radiate upwards from an imagined core. The bars carry the colour register analogous to 'gold’, 'silver and 'bronze'. The upward direction of the stone arrow-head is analogous with the drive or direction of a company while the three bars can be interpreted as flashes or streams brought to bear on a developing company.