Drug delivery technology company Midatech Pharma plc has moved its Cardiff headquarters to offices in Cardiff Bay.
The company has moved to the 1 Caspian Point office building in Caspian Way, Pierhead Street part of the Parmer Cardiff campus on the city’s waterfront, where it has created 8,050 sq ft of offices and laboratories on the ground and first floors. Midatech has taken a five year lease on confidential terms.
It was advised in the transaction by the Cardiff office of property consultancy Knight Frank, whose Building Consultancy Team project managed the Cat A works and the fitout of its new premises.
Following a strategic review last year Midatech decided to focus on its Q-Sphera 3D printing technology to encapsulate medicines in bio-degradable polymers for improved delivery and targeting. Once injected, the polymer gradually degrades and releases the drug evenly over a period of up to three months.
Stephen Stamp, chief executive officer of Midatech Pharma, said: “Our technology is unique and patented and we have identified a strategy to work on multiple Q-Sphera programmes simultaneously and partner them at an early stage.
“To execute on that plan Midatech needed expanded, purpose-designed labs, and our previous facilities in Newport Road were far from ideal with labs split over two floors and difficulties moving materials and equipment in and out.
“The new premises at Caspian Point are modern, 50 per cent larger, and much more usable. The building consultancy team at Knight Frank was invaluable in creating a layout tailored to suit our needs exactly.”
Vaughan Gething, Welsh Government Economy Minister, officially opened the new Midatech headquarters. He said: “Our ambition is for Wales to be a global leader in Life Sciences, whilst stimulating economic growth and creating new high-skilled jobs. We are already able to provide the right environment for companies to innovate and grow and, working alongside the NHS, together we can tackle the greatest healthcare challenges of our generation and address health inequalities. I’m very pleased to see how this business has grown and will play an important part in Wales’ expanding Life Sciences sector.”
Mark Sutton, partner in Knight Frank said: “Midatech is going through a period of extensive growth and required a building that could provide an office headquarters as having the flexibility to incorporate a bespoke laboratory fit out. Caspian Point ticked all the boxes, providing both elements and a superb new facility with capacity for further expansion.”
Edward Lockyer, head of European office and industrial asset management at Global Mutual, which asset manages Parmer Innovation Centres, said: “In this waterside location, we’ve created a vibrant, amenity-rich campus environment that is now home to a growing business and innovation community representing an exceptional line-up of occupiers from a variety of industries and sectors. As the UK positions itself to become a global Life Sciences powerhouse, businesses like Midatech will contribute significantly to our future economic prosperity, becoming a leading light for the local and UK economy, and we’re proud that Parmer Cardiff has been selected as the base for this journey.”
Midatech currently employs 23 people and expects to add to that steadily over coming years, with five new posts being created in the immediate future.
Stephen Stamp said: “As well as our Q-Sphera technology we have developed a separate range of products to treat brain cancers which enables the active chemotherapy drug to be delivered direct into the tumour via a catheter in the skull. This delivers a dose 100,000 times more concentrated than possible with traditional oral delivery methods while also minimising its exposure to healthy tissue, and provides hope of improved outcomes for patients with rare brain cancers.”