Alchemy Healthcare
Better understanding the market potential of the technology behind its new needle-free drug delivery product has strengthened Alchemy's hand in discussions with would-be investors and commercial partners
Background
Oxford-based Alchemy Healthcare was set up by its Founder and Chief Scientific Officer Ian Harrison, a former hospital director of pharmaceutical services and lecturer in clinical pharmacology, to develop his idea for a new needle-free delivery system enabling the nasal delivery of drugs in dry powder form.
After completing an executive MBA, he was keen to develop a business of his own. Experience with pharmaceutical companies working in the respiratory sector led him to address the need for nasal drug delivery. The product he devised comprises a chamber in which the powdered drug sits and another where gas is stored under pressure. When the gas is released, the drug is pushed down a nozzle inserted into the nose. The USP is the removal of the need for patient coordination.
Between 2001 and 2006 Harrison, who in the late-1990s worked as a consultant advising pharmaceuticals companies introducing new products, self-funded the initial development of the product.
In February 2007, however, with a grant from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), he began a 12 month project to build a working product that could then be tested. This enabled Harrison to employ two engineers on a part-time basis. Around the same time he accessed Designing Demand's Innovate service for external support which, he hoped, would feed into the product development process.
Problem
‘In early 2006 I knew what I wanted to achieve but didn't know how,’ Harrison explains.
‘My initial idea had been for a device to deliver liquids nasally. But feedback from the pharmaceutical industry suggested there would be more potential in a powder-based device so we shifted our strategy accordingly.
‘By the start of the SEEDA project I had a shape for the device, I’d commissioned solid models and had a rough idea of what the components would look like. Using computer modelling we were beginning to pay attention to the internal workings of the device and how it could best work for powder.
But it was necessary to tie all this together in a design context.’
This was the issue Harrison assumed Innovate would help him address. But after a half-day session to find out more about the support on offer, he describes this initial assumption as ‘somewhat naive’.
‘It was immediately apparent that by focusing as closely as I had done on developing the product I had, perhaps, not paid enough attention to the market,’ he says. ‘The help available promised to go way beyond the look, feel and geometry of my product - and did.’
Response
The first stage of Alchemy's 12 month participation in Innovate involved an in-depth, three-day workshop during which Harrison worked with a team including Chris Thompson, the Design Associate allocated to mentor Alchemy, to analyse every aspect of the business. This was followed by monthly meetings with Thompson.
‘The first challenge I was given was to think more widely about my product,’ Harrison says. Initially, he had conceived the nasal delivery system for use in developing countries as it would allow vaccines to be given quickly, easily, cheaply and hygienically without the need for expert training or use of needles.
Innovate, however, helped open his eyes to the potential of the patented system he had devised for delivering a wider range of medicines in other situations, even veterinary use. ‘By more closely exploring the product and its potential, new markets opened up,’ says Thompson. ‘And when we explored these it was clear the business was scalable.’
Harrison's aim is for the product to be made available to pharmaceutical companies under licence. This means he needs to form partnerships with multinational pharmaceuticals companies already established in the market.
‘We discussed image and brand. At first I didn't think either were particularly important but it was clear they had to be more closely connected to the strategic vision for the business if we were to attract the funding and business partners we needed to bring the product to market,’ Harrison explains.
‘My old logo was deliberately old-fashioned to convey the conservative nature of the business. I needed something far more contemporary to compete effectively in a 21st century marketplace.’
Three design agencies were approached and briefed to create a new brand identity. One, Kreate Graphics, was appointed to undertake the project which resulted in a modern, fresh green logo that would set it apart in a marketplace where many identities feature blues and aquamarine.
Kreate also designed a new website for Alchemy, featuring the new identity, and a one-page flyer to distribute at a major trade show. Both were launched in April 2008.
‘Another recommendation was to establish an informal advisory panel to establish a virtual network of key players well-positioned to support the fledgling business,’ Thompson adds. ‘This, along with the updated branding, was important for the company to look both established and professional, both of which are critical for a newcomer wanting to make its mark in a global marketplace dominated by corporate giants.’
Impact
During its participation in Innovate, Alchemy met an investor keen to put money into the business. After due diligence, this investment was put on hold during to the worsening economic situation, although Harrison says he is now hopeful funding may be released later in 2009.
Alchemy's SEEDA-funded project to develop and test the product was successfully completed in spring 2008.
The company then successfully applied for a further SEEDA grant in early 2009 for a second project to animal test the product - research essential before the company can formally take the product to pharmaceutical companies. This project should be completed in 2010.
‘Innovate has affected us in a number of ways,’ Harrison observes. ‘It increased our confidence. It forced us into better market awareness. And it helped us evolve the original technology we already had beyond a single product idea into a delivery system we now call Naltos™.’
Another lasting legacy is the more vigorous self-analysis Harrison and his team have since adopted as a matter of routine.
‘It challenged us to share more internally and work better as a team. And we have since brought in an independent facilitator with a business and engineering background for a one-day session to further refine our strategy,’ he adds.
‘But above all I think it showed how easy it is when you are designing a new product to get lost in the technology. By being challenged to focus more sharply on the marketplace, however, we have widened our strategy and identified a range of new business opportunities, yet focus on key priorities.’
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