Living the Californian Dream . . . in Scotland

Kevin had been working for Mentor Corporation on an interesting compound called hyaluronic acid (HA) – a naturally occurring molecule that Kevin believed had significant market potential. In 2007 he decided to take the plunge and develop HA-based products himself.

Joining him in his endeavour was his former Mentor colleague and HA ‘guru’ Dr Xiaobin Zhao, and together they founded Burdica Biomed Limited.

Burdica uses HA-based technology platforms to develop new products in areas such as reproductive health, aesthetics, urology and wound care.

“It’s been an amazing journey,” said Kevin. “Although I’ve got 15 years’ experience in engineering and operations management, there is always something more to learn.”

Finding new business support

Fortunately, support was at hand through the Edinburgh Pre-Incubator Scheme (EPIS) where his company was based. EPIS is a joint venture between the University of Edinburgh, Scottish Enterprise and the European Regional Development Fund and located at the University's College of Science and Engineering campus.

It provides a hands-on programme of mentoring, business accommodation and grant funding for entrepreneurs starting up knowledge-led businesses, and also gives access to university facilities to allow entrepreneurs to test and develop their products.

“Scotland is a great place to start a company. There is a lot of help for businesses here, particularly in niche high-tech markets such as bio-technology where there is a lot of grant aid to help you get established,” explained Kevin, “and it’s a great place to live!”

Making the decision to live and work in Scotland

Kevin originally came to Scotland as a result of a job advert on www.talentscotland.com in 2003. At that time, a company called A-Life (recently acquired by the Mentor Corporation) had developed a pioneering technology using HA and was looking for a new Operations Director. Kevin fitted the bill and moved to Edinburgh to take up the role. Over the next four years, the business prospered and grew with product sales of over £10m globally in more than 70 countries. The company entered a strategic alliance with Genzyme and closed the factory in Edinburgh.

“Hyaluronic acid is an amazing compound as it is a natural lubricant that can be absorbed by the skin,” explained Kevin. “It is biocompatible and degradable which means it has great potential in anti-ageing treatments, fertility lubrication and controlled delivery of drugs.”

Burdica’s strategy is to bring HA-based products to the market quickly and to develop an intellectual property portfolio to enable it to become a leader in this field.

Burdica decided to focus on the aesthetics market ($700m market value) and reproductive health markets ($2bn market value).

This strategy paid off this year as Burdica’s recent entry into fertility lubricants, marketed under the brand name Zestica, has sold out against the only other competing product in the category. “Thanks to positive clinical results, Zestica is set to become the leading fertility lubricant in the world for couples trying to get pregnant,” said Kevin, who is searching for distributors in North America.

Kevin believes he has a great quality of life in Scotland with fast access to major hubs in Europe. He enjoys the Scottish lifestyle and green rolling hills. “One of the reasons I moved is that the culture in the US has become more and more focused on work and money.

“I think the Scottish work ethic is focused on systematic processes and is great for life science start-ups . . . and there’s a better work-life balance.”

Story kindly provided by Burdica Biomed and TalentScotland.