May 6, 2005 IP has always been key to biotech. Companies strive to get around existing IP or find novel ways to generate new IP. When they succeed, investors are taking notice. By reformulating existing drugs, biotechs often find an easy way to generate new composition of matter IP. If these drugs are already approved, marketed, and past their original IP protection, the process is highly simplified. Most approaches focus on delivery technologies and new ways to administer the compound. Some take advantage of the novel arts of nanotechnology. We recently ran across a private company that started along this well-trod path, but ended up with a slightly different approach. Celator focuses on the combination of synergistic compounds with particular emphasis on the exact ratios of constituents. In Celator’s case, the combinations may already be in use, albeit not in the exact ratios that the company claims are essential for increased success. Investors like this company, and we look at the reasons why...
