Glide Pharma: The transition from drug delivery to specialty pharma

Fintan Walton talks to Charles Potter, CEO, Glide Pharma, about inventing the Glide technology and his subsequent setting up of Glide Pharmaceutical Technologies. After covering Charles’ experience at PowderJect Pharmaceuticals, Fintan and Charles discuss how the company, originally set up as the drug delivery firm Caretek Medical, evolved into a specialty pharmaceutical company. Today, Glide Pharma has three generic products in its pipeline, in addition to partnerships that include one with a top five pharmaceutical company. These applications of the Glide technology have been applied only to products already available on the market, but this may change as the company moves forward.

Glide’s financial backing includes support from Oxford Venture Capital Trust and other local business angels. Impressively, the last equity financing closed just 4 weeks after the business plans were sent out! Glide is obviously in a good position at the moment, and expects to raise further finance after completing some internal company milestones. The opportunities for Glide at the moment are enormous. In addition to it own products and partnerships, the company’s technology patent also permits it application to medical devices. For the time being, however, Glide intends to focus its efforts on its current projects. 

About Charles Potter

Charles Potter founded Caretek Medical, now known as Glide Pharma, in 2001, following the invention of the Glide ™ (then ImplaJect ®) technology - a novel needle-free drug delivery technology for the injection of drugs and vaccines in a solid dosage form. Charles has worked in four other successful start-up companies, including nearly six years at PowderJect Pharmaceuticals, where he saw the company grow from just five employees to over 1000.

Charles holds an engineering degree and PhD from Cambridge University. He also spent 6 years undertaking research within the Transplant Unit at Papworth Hospital, a specialist cardiothoracic centre, where he gained extensive medical experience.

About Glide Pharma

Glide Pharma, previously known as Caretek Medical, is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing products based on its proprietary Glide™ technology. Glide is an innovative needle-free drug delivery system for the injection of drugs, vaccines and other active pharmaceutical ingredients in a solid form. Since its foundation in 2001, the company has secured funding from Oxford Technology Venture Capital Trusts and other local business angels. It was granted its first patent in the UK in 2005.

The company’s first own-brand product, an injectable form of sumatriptan, which will offer faster relief of symptoms for migraine sufferers, is currently in development. Glide Pharma is also co-developing products with pharmaceutical partners.

For more information about Glide Pharma, visit www.glidepharma.com

Additional Resources

Drug Delivery Report Article:

Pushing the Boundaries of Needle-free Injection

See www.drugdeliveryreport.com for further details about the drug delivery market