Bradford's CrystecPharma raises debt to swap injections for inhalers
What's the deal? CrystecPharmaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Bradford drug-delivery company that helps patients replace injections with inhalers, has secured a six-figure loan to meet growing demand. The funding came from NPIF II — Mercia Debt Finance, managed by Mercia Business Loans as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → II.
What's the endgame? Founded in 2008 by three University of Bradford academics, the company develops technology to deliver medicines as dry powder inhalers. It serves many of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies and is also building its own range of inhaled products.
By the numbers: CrystecPharma grew revenue by almost 80% in 2025 and expects a further 50% rise this year. It has 15 staff, moved to Bradford's Listerhills Science Park this year, and plans to create four new jobs in the coming months.
Why now? The loan follows a series of major contract wins and will let the company scale ahead of a planned equity investment round. Co-founders Paul Thorning and Qun Shao, previously balancing academic roles, are now focused exclusively on the business.
Why it matters: Chief executive officer Paul Thorning said dry powder inhalers can be "a real gamechanger," letting health workers treat people outside a clinical setting. He cited treating post-partum haemorrhage in refugee camps and applications in women's health, "an area which remains underserved by our industry."
Co-founder Peter York previously co-founded Bradford Particle Design, sold to Inhale Therapeutics for $200 million.
What's next? Andy Clough of Mercia Business Loans said the technology solves "some real challenges" for clients with newer biotech drugs whose fragile molecules are harder to stabilise. He said the business has "potential to become a global leader in its field."
The signal: The deal underlines investor appetite for regional deeptech in the north of England, where public-backed debt is bridging companies from lab-born research to commercial scale — and from early revenue to their next equity round.
Image credit: foteih
