Apr 27 2009
Xspray Microparticles AB, the Swedish life science technology company, has developed a cutting-edge solution for pharmaceutical particle production based on supercritical fluid technology. The Company's RightSize Particle Manufacturing Technology overcomes many of the drawbacks of traditional micronization and is well suited to demanding applications. As well as offering all the advantages of earlier supercritical fluid technologies it also provides scalability. This means pharmaceutical companies have the opportunity to produce better quality particles and powders, from discovery all the way through to drug manufacture.
The first commercial agreement with a customer began in Q4, 2008. Since then, two additional, major pharmaceutical companies have also undertaken evaluation projects. Each of the companies is using the technology for a different purpose; one is studying crystallization, another is looking at solid dispersion and the third is working with nanonization (the production of nano-sized particles).
"Interest from pharmaceutical companies has been steadily increasing over the last twelve months or so," commented Per Andersson, Xspray's CEO. "Despite the current economical climate we have secured three commercial agreements, which show that customers are convinced by the benefits of the technology. This is an important step for the Company and confirms that we have a strong offering, capable of adding real value throughout the pharmaceutical process from development to production."
To support the ongoing evaluation projects, and to meet an expected increase in future demand, Xspray has recently doubled the size of its service lab. The strengthening of human resources began in mid 2008 with the appointment of Mikael Bisrat as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Bisrat has more than 15 years experience in the industry and has a thorough understanding of the needs within pharmaceutical development projects. The most recent recruit is Helene Derand, PhD, who joined the company in March 2009 as Sales and Marketing Director. Ms. Derand has broad-based experience gained from more than ten years in the biotechnology and medical technology sectors. She has held various management positions in both global and start-up companies with responsibilities ranging from R&D and clinical operations to business development.
Per Andersson continued, "We have recently expanded our service offering to include solid state characterization and analysis capabilities. Plus, we will be opening our new GMP production facility within the next month or so. There are some exciting opportunities ahead for Xspray, so it is important that we have a capable, dynamic organization in place to take full advantage of them."