Imperial Innovations, the commercialization arm of Imperial College, has launched IR Pharma Ltd., a new company targeting contract services for the respiratory disease sector of the pharmaceutical industry.

IR Pharma employs the scientific expertise of Professor Maria Belvisi and Dr. Mark Birrell and their Respiratory Pharmacology group based in the Heart & Lung Institute at Imperial College. The company aims to make its services accessible to companies and industrial research groups. Dr. Jim Chadwick will handle all commercial and marketing aspects of the business; the scientific work will be performed at Imperial College.

Professor Belvisi commented, “It has been a long-term aim to separate our commercial work from our academic research and we are confident that we now have the appropriate vehicle to allow us to do this. We believe this will help both our clients and ourselves.”

“Service companies like IR Pharma are forming an increasingly important part of our company spin-out portfolio,” said Tony Hickson, director of Biosciences at Imperial Innovations. “We believe that IR Pharma will quickly establish its world class services in the market and confirm our faith in this venture.”