Nutriband CEO Gareth Sheridan. Image: Nutriband
Gareth Sheridan’s idea for a patch to deliver nutrients has spawned a $185m business empire.
Nutriband has signed a letter of intent to acquire 100pc of Carmel Biosciences in an all-share deal valued at $3.8m (€3.2m).
Nutriband is an Orlando-headquartered company founded by Terenure native Gareth Sheridan, a previous winner of the Best Young Entrepreneur award in the 2014 Bank of Ireland Startup Awards.
The company, which he founded in 2012, has made a series of acquisitions in recent months aimed at consolidating its position in the transdermal and novel drug delivery space.
Nutriband, based around the science of transdermal/topical technologies, was the brainchild of Sheridan who, inspired by nicotine patches, came up with a new way of using patches to slow-release vitamins and nutrients into a user’s system over a number of hours.
Now valued at more than $185m, Nutriband has had a busy 12 months, including the previous acquisition of 4P Therapeutics in April this year. In February, the company added seasoned businessman Sean Gallagher to the management and board of directors.
Devising the future of drug delivery
In December 2017, Carmel Biosciences received FDA approval for Prexxartan, the first and only approved oral liquid dosage form of the angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) Valsartan in the US.
Prexxartan is used for the treatment of hypertension in adults and children six years and older.
The hypertension therapeutics market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 3.2pc and is expected to reach $4.75bn by 2024, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.
“The Carmel Biosciences team combines a deep understanding of lipid biochemistry and clinical expertise in the cardiovascular and metabolic space,” Sheridan said.
“Carmel’s focus in the reformulation of drugs with a high degree of safety and efficacy allows improved access to patients who have difficulty swallowing tablets or capsules, and provides enhanced usage of these widely acclaimed products.”
