Burdica hopes £2m will ease way to profit

LIFE sciences company Burdica Biomed, which makes sexual lubricants and treatments for skin problems, is seeking £2m to help take the company to profitability in 2011.

The Edinburgh-based firm has a pipeline of products ready for launch over 12 months to two years. US entrepreneur Kevin Burd, executive director and co-founder, said the firm had short-term revenue prospects and is developing distribution and licence agreements. "We have already had promising discussions with key international players in the UK, Europe, the US and China," he said.

Burd is an engineer with more than 15 years' experience in life science technology and operations management. He began work with Baxter Healthcare in the US, moving to Scotland in 2003 as head of operations for the Mentor Corporation. At Mentor, he and Burdica co-founder, Dr Xiaobin Zhao, worked on the international launch of Puragen, an injectable filler for the cosmetic anti-ageing market. Within three years sales grew to more than $10m a year with distribution in more than 70 countries. Burd was listed recently as a global industry leader and expert by the Society of Industry Leaders wh ich is part of the Standard & Poors Index of New York.

Adrian Smith, director of the Edinburgh Pre-incubator Scheme (EPIS), which is supporting Burdica, said: "Kevin Burd is the fourth US entrepreneur to join EPIS since 2004 and we were delighted he applied." EPIS is funded by the European Commission and the Scottish Government to help high-growth potential technology companies.

Dr Howard Marriage, a Scottish based biotechnology entrepreneur advising Burdica under the Scottish Enterprise Life Sciences Advisory Service, said Burdica's pipeline of products and Burd's energetic approach to business development should ensure the company achieves critical mass quickly.

"I believe that Burdica has the potential to make a significant impact on the life science economy in Scotland," he said.