Collagen Solutions secures Merck supply agreement

Glasgow life sciences firm Collagen Solutions has landed a supply deal with drugs giant Merck.

Collagen Solutions chief executive Stewart White. Picture: Contributed

Under the contract with the German group, the Aim-quoted company – which is aiming to build its valuation to £100 million within the next five years – will provide its collagen products to researchers around the world through Merck’s distribution network.

Collagen chief executive Stewart White said: “Our agreement with Merck makes our high-quality range of medical-grade collagen products available to the research market.

“Researchers need to know that the material they use in the laboratory is consistent and can be scaled up without any loss of quality or change in characteristics. This means that they can start with material which is suitable for medical applications from the earliest stage in their research and do not have to switch suppliers when they reach commercialisation.”

Mike Mitchell, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, said: “Provision of collagen to the worldwide research market offers excellent potential for Collagen Solutions’ materials to be adopted and developed from the earliest stages of research.

“Fundamentally, we believe Collagen is building a credible business underpinned by intellectual property and technical expertise, with a growing range of customers and opportunities.”

The agreement comes after Collagen last month said it would collaborate on a research project into the treatment of burns with Blond McIndoe Research Foundation, a not-for-profit centre for regenerative medicine based at the Queen Victoria Hospital in West Sussex.

The hospital is known for its pioneering treatment of burns sustained by allied aircrew during the Second World War.