John explains why he felt Simon Wallwork was the right fit,
“Even while I was considering setting up Blueberry Therapeutics, I knew that I needed good legal advice and solid corporate governance.”
“Simon’s experience with biotech was invaluable”
“From my first meeting with Simon, I was convinced: there was good chemistry, and Simon came across as very solid. I signed him up in 2011 – together with his help, we incorporated Blueberry in November 2011.”
“Simon’s experience with biotech was invaluable in the early days of Blueberry Therapeutics. He helped set the business up in an effective way, ensuring all the corporate governance was in place that would allow for future funding. That was the foundation on which we built a very investable opportunity.”
Bringing medicines to large proportions of the population
Blueberry is developing medicines for some of the world’s most common diseases which affect around 1 in every 10 people on the planet. Its main work is in nanomedicines for dermatology with a portfolio of five programmes.
Its main products are in onychomycosis and tinea pedis, fungal infections of the nail and skin such as fungal nail infections and athlete’s foot.
John explained,
“Our main purpose is to bring medicines to large proportions of the population. Current treatments are very poor and we are developing more effective and easier treatments to create a more positive patient experience.”
A full-service law firm
Although the biotech firm initially began working with Slater Heelis’s corporate team, Blueberry has been able to take advantage of the law firm’s full-service status working with legal experts across a range of professional services.
John outlined, “Our relationship with Slater Heelis has evolved from very corporate focused activity in the early days and developed into various funding cycles from the initial seed funding through series rounds A and B plus extensions, raising a total of £18m from around the globe including China, US and across Europe.”
“Slater Heelis have been involved in all aspects of those raises, assisting us with the due diligence packages, legal agreements, corporate matters, company records and the contract negotiations. I couldn’t have done those contract negotiations effectively without Simon and the team’s support.”
“What sets Slater Heelis apart is the wide range of offerings they have. I have a solid core in Simon Wallwork and Rhian Owen (Partner) in the corporate team, but over the last ten years we have had needs for other aspects. We’ve been introduced into other departments of Slater Heelis and the work has been consistently of a high quality. It’s been very attractive to work with a firm with that range of offerings.”
What does the future hold for Blueberry Therapeutics?
When asked about what the future holds for Blueberry, Dr Ridden was very buoyant,
“The future plans and ambitions are pretty big I would say. The next step following the success in our phase 2B clinical trial is a series C raise of between £50 – £100m that will allow us to carry out our phase 3 clinical trials.
“Success in phase 3 clinical development will allow us to partner in a number of territories. At the moment, we are planning to launch ourselves in the US which will require a £200-£300m raise, which would either be an IPO or a series D raise.”
A safe robust pair of hands
Approaching the ten-year anniversary of the two firms working together, John was asked to think of a time when Slater Heelis really stood out to him.
He went on to say,
“In 2015 and 16 they assisted with our series A raise. It’s a very complicated activity with many moving parts, but between Simon and Rhian they managed to keep everything crystal clear, well organised and always seemed to be available.”
“If I had a key question and reached out, they would either return a call within the hour or were available to talk immediately. I never felt like we held up any of the negotiations or discussions, and I felt confident in the quality of the work they did for us.
John concludes, “If you are looking for a legal partner, then like me, you are probably looking for a safe robust pair of hands and I found that with Slater Heelis.”
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