Pharmakopius International is the first health-care company of1994 to announce plans to seek a listing on the London StockExchange.

The 10-year-old company, which describes itself as a specialistin health-care research and development, expects to raise up to#6 million (U.S.$8.9 million). Allied Provincial CorporateServices are sponsors and brokers for the issue, which willvalue Pharmakopius at around $37.3 million.

Based west of London in the Thames Valley (a focal area ofBritain's biotechnology industry), Pharmakopius was started byRichard Smith, who entered the pharmaceutical industry withICI plc in 1970. Before setting up his own company, Smith wasresearch and development director for Reckitt and Colman,responsible for worldwide drug development.

Pharmakopius' management includes Ronald Wing as non-executive chairman. Wing has worked with variouspharmaceutical companies, including Boots, Wellcome andReckitt and Colman. Wing also was chairman of the Associationof the British Pharmaceuticals Industry.

Keith Tattersall, a non-executive director with Pharmakopius,was managing director of the pharmaceuticals division of Smith& Nephew before he retired last year.

Pharmakopius was initially a specialist consultant company inthe pharmaceutical sector. It then branched out into clinicalresearch before moving on to become a pharmaceuticalsdevelopment company.

The company has 150 clients encompassing virtually all of themajor British pharmaceutical companies, including Astra,Bayer, Pfizer, Roche Nicholas, Smith & Nephew and Wellcome.

In 1987 Pharmakopius created a separate company fordevelopment and commercialization of it own range ofpharmaceuticals. One objective of the share placement is toprovide funds for the company's own product line.Pharmakopius has rights to a number of prescription and over-the-counter products, some of which could be developed inthree to four years.

Pharmakopius has no plans to set up its own productionfacilities and would license new compounds to othermanufacturers.

Pharmakopius also hopes to expand its international activities.The company already has a small office in Osaka, Japan, as wellas offices in the Netherlands and Italy. Smith expects to finalizeplans to open up in Germany in the near future. Pharmakopiushopes also to form a joint venture with an established contractservice company in the health care sector in the U.S.

-- Michael Kenward Special to BioWorld

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.