Controlled Therapeutics

Already exporting its key product Cervidil®/Propess® to over 50 countries, Controlled Therapeutics is a company with a clearly defined strategy. As it continues to expand its range of products and grow its global reach, Scottish Development International (SDI) and Scottish Enterprise (SE) have provided crucial support.

The company

Established in 1987, Controlled Therapeutics develops, manufactures and licenses pharmaceutical products based around women’s health, including its main product, Cervidil®/Propess®, the leading global brand for induction of labour.

Since 1993, the company has been operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cytokine PharmaSciences Inc, a pharmaceutical corporation based in Pennsylvania, USA.

The challenge

Controlled Therapeutics has been working with Scottish Enterprise (SE) for many years and with Account Manager Cameron Ritchie for just over a year. It currently exports its leading product Cervidil®/Propess® all over the world, but now has its sights set on further expansion.

“Over the next year our main focus is on the release of new products to market,” explains Cameron Macdonald, Managing Director.

These new products will be based around the same unique drug delivery technology – a polymer initially developed by the University of Strathclyde that allows the drug it carries to be released in a time-controlled manner.

It's in the development and future success of these new products that SE has focused resources.

The solution

In 2008, a Regional Selective Assistance grant from SE of £930,000, against a total investment of £3.6 million, enabled Controlled Therapeutics to upgrade their manufacturing capacity to further exploit the polymer technology and develop new products.

“We’re currently in Phase III of a follow-on from Cervidil®/Propess®,” says Cameron Macdonald. “It uses the same technology, but acts faster by reducing the time of labour, and may have other advantages such as reducing the likelihood of a Caesarean Section.

"Clinical trials will finish this year and we’ll then look to register the product in the US and elsewhere.”

How SDI helped

“We’re currently assisting Controlled Therapeutics in a number of areas,” says Cameron Ritchie, “such as international market development through Scottish Development International, which includes market research into alternative approaches to various markets.

"We’ve also put some training support in place focusing on the operation of the company, and two of the company’s directors recently participated in the Leadership for Growth Programme.”

“SE has come in and helped with efficiency improvements, management training, and has also supported IPR workshops,” adds Cameron Macdonald.

“Their support has been very broad-based. We've a very good relationship with our account manager and have engaged him fully with our business strategy and resource requirements.”

The impact

Already well-established, Controlled Therapeutics is continuing to grow market share within existing territories but is also on track to introduce several new products to the global market.

On target for turnover of £14 million by 2012, SE’s input has helped the company achieve its aims and pave the way for future success.

Training has provided critical guidance and given management access to the tools they need as they continue to develop their business.

Last year, the company was awarded a Queens Award for International Trade, in recognition of its year-on-year increase in exports, now over 90 percent of its revenue.