Numedicus

What Numedicus does

Numedicus is a UK-based pharmaceutical company founded in 2008 (first posts 2009) and headquartered in Cambridge, England. The company specializes in drug repurposing (therapeutic switching), using a knowledge-based approach to identify secondary therapeutic uses for compounds that have already been launched, registered, or investigated. Its core asset is the proprietary DrugRepurposing.info database, which catalogues 9,040 compounds, 471 indications, 999 mechanisms, 3,013 mechanism-indication links, 815 compound-indication links, and 273 compound-mechanism (off-target) links, yielding 4,101 candidate repurposing opportunities. The company uses five methods to find new drug uses: bioinformatics-based mathematical association, pharmacology pathway models, off-target pharmacological screening, clinical experimentation, and a knowledge-based approach that bridges to patent-protectable aspects.

The business model is B2B IP licensing and co-development. Numedicus identifies clinical-stage repurposing candidates, secures method-of-use patents, and out-licenses them to pharmaceutical and biotech partners for further development and commercialization. Lead assets include Tianeptine / a glutamate modulator (AMO-04), licensed to AMO Pharma for Rett Syndrome and certain breathing disorders (which received FDA Orphan Drug Designation in July 2018), and espindolol for cancer cachexia, which was contributed to the 2017 Actimed Therapeutics spin-out. Numedicus also works with associated company Exvastat (David Cavalla-founded, kinase inhibitors; Phase II in severe Covid-19 initiated 2020), and historically with PsiOxus on the Phase II MT-102 program. Customer segments span large, mid-size, and specialty pharma, biotech companies seeking life-cycle management or in-licensing opportunities, university pharmacology departments with academic discoveries, drug delivery companies seeking novel actives, and rare disease / orphan drug developers.

The firm operates as a lean, asset-centric, virtual organization: founder and CEO David Cavalla leads the company while also chairing or co-founding several other biotechs (Arachnova Ltd, Exvastat, Serenatis Bio Ltd), and no external equity investors or institutional shareholders are disclosed. Revenue is generated through licensing milestones and royalty-like payments on out-licensed IP, supported by patents including EP2094254B1 (s-pindolol / cancer cachexia) and US8716325 (espindolol for cachexia). Marketing and distribution rely on the DrugRepurposing.info website, a blog covering pharmaceutical strategy and drug repurposing, a newsletter subscription, and a Twitter channel (@numedicus).

Name

Numedicus

Legal name

Numedicus Limited

Website

https://numedicus.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Numedicus is a UK-based pharmaceutical company that identifies and patents secondary therapeutic uses for existing drugs, backed by its proprietary DrugRepurposing.info database of 9,040 compounds and 4,101 repurposing opportunities, and licenses these method-of-use patents to pharma and biotech partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmaceutical Drug Repurposing Consulting

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Drug Discovery (Target ID/Validation & Hit Discovery) (HLAIALAA)

Keywords

• Drug repurposing services
• Therapeutic switching
• Pharmaceutical IP licensing
• Method-of-use patents
• Drug discovery consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Licensing and IP Commercialization: Numedicus generates revenue through licensing its intellectual property (method-of-use patents) to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The company identifies clinical-stage drug repurposing projects, secures patent protection, and licenses them to partners for further development. Examples include licensing to AMO Pharma (Rett Syndrome glutamate modulator) and the spin-out of Actimed Therapeutics for espindolol (cancer cachexia).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Numedicus is a pharmaceutical drug repurposing (therapeutic switching) company that identifies secondary clinical uses for existing drugs and licenses the resulting method-of-use patents to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, drug delivery, and academic partners. Its discovery engine is the proprietary DrugRepurposing.info database containing 9,040 compounds across 471 indications with 999 mechanisms and 4,101 repurposing opportunities, which it uses to source and advance clinical-stage candidates such as tianeptine for Rett Syndrome and espindolol for cancer cachexia.

Product overview

Numedicus is a drug repurposing company focused on identifying secondary uses for existing drugs. The company's primary offering is the DrugRepurposing.info database, which contains 9040 compounds, 471 indications, 999 mechanisms, and provides 4101 repurposing opportunities. Numedicus uses this database to identify and develop clinical-stage candidates, licensing them to pharmaceutical partners for advancement. Key clinical programs include Tianeptine (Phase II for Rett Syndrome with AMO Pharma) and Espindolol (for cancer cachexia, via spin-out Actimed Therapeutics). The company also authored the book 'Off-Label Prescribing: Justifying Unapproved Medicine.'

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DrugRepurposing Online database: Online database featuring over 4,000 potential new uses for existing compounds, containing both existing and abandoned drugs and focused on functional, experimentally validated content. Available at drugrepurposing.info.

Products and services

• DrugRepurposing.info Database An online knowledge database, owned by Numedicus, containing 9,040 compounds (launched, registered, or investigated), 471 indications, 999 mechanisms, 3,013 mechanism-indication links, 815 compound-indication links, and 273 compound-mechanism (off-target) links, yielding 4,101 repurposing opportunities. Used by the company to identify clinical-stage repurposing candidates for licensing.
• Tianeptine (Rett Syndrome Program) A clinical-stage drug repurposing candidate for the treatment of Rett Syndrome (and certain breathing disorders), developed on the basis of Numedicus's IP and licensed to AMO Pharma. The treatment subsequently received FDA Orphan Drug designation.
• Espindolol (Cancer Cachexia Program) A clinical-stage beta blocker repurposed for cancer cachexia, combining three mechanisms (beta-1 adrenergic inhibition, partial beta-2 adrenergic agonism, 5-HT1A interaction). Numedicus improved on prior beta-blocker IP, filed a patent (now granted worldwide including US8716325), and contributed to the spin-out of Actimed Therapeutics to advance development.
• AMO-04 Glutamate Modulator (Licensed to AMO Pharma) A long-safety-history glutamate modulator repurposed for Rett Syndrome and certain breathing disorders, licensed by Numedicus to AMO Pharma under a Development and License Agreement along with related compound IP and know-how, with the treatment later receiving FDA Orphan Drug designation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Drug repurposing reduces R&D costs to approximately one-third to one-quarter of new chemical entity development costs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AMO PharmacoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerNumedicus entered into a Development and License Agreement with AMO Pharma to advance the development of a glutamate modulator (AMO-04) and related compounds for the treatment of Rett Syndrome and certain breathing disorders. Numedicus licensed two key pieces of intellectual property and associated know-how around the use of an existing glutamate modulator. AMO Pharma is a privately held biopharmaceutical company led by CEO Mike Snape, focused on debilitating diseases with limited treatment options. The treatment subsequently received FDA Orphan Drug designation.
• Actimed TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNumedicus contributed to the formation of Actimed Therapeutics, a spin-out company for the development of espindolol for the treatment of cancer cachexia. Actimed was founded by Profs Andrew Coats and Stefan Anker, two leading cardiologists and inventors of the background intellectual property for the use of beta adrenergic blockers in cachexia treatment. Numedicus improved on this technology by identifying a single isomer of pindolol and filed a patent (now granted worldwide) for the treatment of cachexia.
• ExvastatminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExvastat is an associated company of Numedicus, led by David Cavalla as founder. Exvastat undertook clinical research of kinase inhibitors in ARDS. In the context of Covid-19, Exvastat announced the start of a Phase II trial in severe Covid-19 patients.
• PsiOxusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPsiOxus conducted the Phase II trial of MT-102 (s-pindolol) in cancer cachexia. David Cavalla is inventor of this technology and Numedicus has an interest in this development. PsiOxus reported the positive outcome of the Phase II trial.
• Rettsyndrome.orgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRettsyndrome.org sponsored the Scout Program, which screened AMO-04 (Numedicus's glutamate modulator licensed to AMO Pharma) and showed significant promise as a potential treatment for Rett Syndrome.
• Arachnova LtdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArachnova Ltd was a company founded and previously run by David Cavalla, focused on therapeutic switching. Numedicus's discovery engine was initially used for Arachnova Therapeutics Limited and also for various Drug Delivery Companies in the UK and Europe.
• Shadow Lake Group Inc.minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerShadow Lake Group Inc., a boutique life sciences advisory firm based in Toronto, Canada, advised Numedicus on the transaction with AMO Pharma.
• Serenatis Bio LtdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDavid Cavalla is CEO and Co-founder of Serenatis Bio Ltd, a company focused on the development of new drugs for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This represents David Cavalla's involvement beyond Numedicus.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Sosei Heptares: Sosei Heptares is a Japan-based GPCR-focused drug discovery company with significant UK operations and a track record of licensing deals. Comparable in pharma partnership and licensing model to Numedicus, but at a much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Healx: Healx is an AI-driven drug repurposing company focused on rare diseases. It is comparable to Numedicus in repurposing-led drug discovery for underserved indications, though it leverages AI/ML where Numedicus uses a knowledge-based engine.
• Every Cure: Every Cure is a non-profit drug repurposing organization leveraging AI to match existing drugs to untreated diseases. It overlaps with Numedicus's mission of identifying new indications for approved compounds, though structured as a non-profit.
• Pharnext: Pharnext is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel combinations of repurposed drugs, with a strong emphasis on rare neurological diseases. It mirrors Numedicus's repurposing-led development model and rare disease focus.
• Biovista: Biovista is a drug repurposing company that uses a systematic, evidence-based approach to identify new indications for existing drugs. It is directly comparable to Numedicus in business model (IP licensing to pharma) and therapeutic switching focus.
• Cyclica: Cyclica is a computational drug discovery company using AI/ML for polypharmacology profiling and drug repurposing. Comparable to Numedicus in identifying novel indications for existing compounds via a data-driven approach.

Broad incumbents

• Benevolent AI: Benevolent AI is a clinical-stage AI drug discovery company with a broad pipeline across multiple therapeutic areas. It competes with Numedicus for pharma AI/repurposing partnerships but operates at a far larger scale and capital base.

Emerging players

• Bicycle Therapeutics: Cambridge, UK-based biotech developing bicycle-based therapeutics, with a Cambridge-located operating base comparable to Numedicus. Different modality but shared UK biotech ecosystem, similar early-stage licensing collaborations.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/numedicus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/numedicus-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Numedicus