Updated 8/8/2011 7:15 p.m.
Delcath Systems Inc. (NSDQ:DCTH) and Osteologix Holdings plc (PINK:OLGXF) planted roots in Ireland this month.
New York-based chemotherapy device maker Delcath landed a grant from the Irish government to support training of marketing, sales and logistics teams at its new European operations center in Galway, Ireland, under Delcath Systems Limited.
"The region is the European home for many international medical device and pharmaceutical companies attracted by its pro-business environment, efficient tax system, logistics and cost advantages, and deep pool of qualified management talent," president & CEO Eamonn Hobbs said in prepared remarks.
Delcath has a 20,000 square-foot building picked out in the IDA Business Mark, where recruiting is already underway, company spokesperson Steve DiMattia told MassDevice. Initial staffing calls for up to 35 marketing, sales and logistics personnel, and recruiting will continue for the next six to 12 months.
The facility should open in Q4 2011, DiMattia told us.
The overseas regulatory process has been a much easier one to traverse, and the company’s flagship isolated chemotherapy delivery system, Chemosat, won CE Mark approval in the European Union in April, Hobbs told MassDevice in June.
"We expect to have regulatory approval in countries in Asia, South America, Central America and Canada, the Middle East and Africa starting in 2012," he said. "We should have regulatory approval in virtually all the countries by the end of 2013."
Shares of Delcath stock were trading at $3.21 at midday today, a 14 percent decrease from yesterday’s close at $3.75.
Osteoporosis therapy company Osteologix moved its corporate headquarters to Ireland, having shut down its Glen Allen, Va., facility entirely. It also dissolved parent company Osteologix Inc. (OTC:OLGX) and deregistered from the NASDAQ stock exchange, per announcements made in December.
OLGXF stock opened at 26 cents per share today, after OLGX closed at that price on July 26.
Osteologix hopes to minimize corporate overhead, maximize licensing agreements with research groups and seek out development partners in the U.S., according to a press release.
