Ardana plc is a pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and marketing of innovative products to improve human reproductive health. The Company listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market in March 2005, raising £21 million. Ardana was the first UK pharmaceutical company to list in 2005, and subsequently to join techMARK mediscience, the Exchange’s international market segment for innovative healthcare companies.
Maureen Lindsay, CEO of Ardana, explains that as an innovative and ambitious company competing on a global stage, the benefits of the UK Main Market made it a natural home for Ardana. The additional profile and focus that the techMARK mediscience segment of the Main Market attracts, provides further specific exposure in supporting the development of emerging pharmaceutical companies and their growth into global ones.
Maureen Lindsay said: “Our admission to the LSE has given us access to the public markets and will allow us to further develop and commercialise our products. In addition, it will allow us to develop our sales and marketing capabilities in the top five European countries in time for the launch of Teverelix.”
The company was founded in 2000 by Simon Best, Ian Kent and Professor Robert Millar to commercialise the pioneering research undertaken by the Medical Research Council’s Human Reproductive Science Unit (HRSU).
Since its foundation, Edinburgh-based Ardana has built a broad and balanced portfolio that balances risk and reward and actively pursues product and technology in-licensing and outlicensing to maintain a robust pipeline. In addition to product development, Ardana’s business strategy focuses on building an internal sales and marketing infrastructure to address its specialist target customers, such as endocrinologists, urologists and gynaecologists.
Ardana’s four lead products are: StriantTM SR, a testosterone replacement therapy that has already been launched by Ardana through its own sales force in the UK as a treatment for men with hypogonadism; Teverelix LA, which is in development for three initial indications (prostate cancer, BPH and endometriosis); Testo Bi-gel, a trans-dermal testosterone delivery system in development for the treatment of male hypogonadism, which is shortly to enter Phase II trials and Invicorp, an injectable drug treatment for erectile dysfunction, for which Ardana has marketing and manufacturing rights in Europe. In addition, Ardana has a strong portfolio of follow-on products in development.
Prior to joining the Main Market Ardana raised over £40 million from private equity fund raising. This money was applied to the acquisition/licensing of products for the portfolio, accelerating the clinical development pipeline, advancing HRSU research and establishing the sales and marketing infrastructure in the UK.
Facts and Figures:
Company: Ardana plc
Location: Edinburgh
FTSE Sector: Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Date of Admission: 9 March 2005
Market Value 30th June 2005: £67 million
Website: www.ardana.co.uk