Chris McKay of regional business rescue and insolvency specialists McTear Williams & Wood, Joint Administrators, said "We became involved late last year after the company hit cashflow problems resulting from a licensing dispute with a drug development partner."
Biotica was established in 1996 as a Cambridge University spinout based on the research of two well respected Cambridge University Professors. Since then it has grown through a series of collaborations into a successful drug discovery and development company. In October 2012, Biotica announced a partnership with California based Delos Pharmaceuticals to develop polyketide therapeutics in aging-related diseases. The deal involved an exclusive license to Biotica's rapamycin analogue program with includes drug candidates for SLE and other diseases.
Biotica's most promising drug candidate is BC556 a highly potent inhibitor of HCV replication in all viral genotypes tested. Significant interest has been shown by a number of parties in acquiring BC556 to develop it further and the administrators are confident of a positive outcome.
To date, around £15 million has been invested in the business.
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