Drug discovery businesses join forces

Four contract research organisations (CROs) based at BioCity Nottingham have joined forces to ensure vital discovery and development of new therapeutics remains uninterrupted during the coronavirus pandemic.

Charnwood Molecular, Reach Separations, Aurelia Bioscience and XenoGesis have strengthened their existing links to work together, meaning the discovery and development of new therapeutics during the pandemic remains supported by four highly experienced specialist CROs.

Dr Richard Weaver, CEO and founder of XenoGesis, said: “Many businesses have been impacted by the restrictions on the movement of people and supplies, which has created barriers and slowed down drug discovery and development.

“XenoGesis, Charnwood Molecular, Reach Separations and Aurelia Bioscience each benefits from being co-located at BioCity Nottingham, and following the implementation of safe working environments to adhere to social distancing rules, the four companies have been able to remain open and provide specialist services to ensure seamless continuity for drug discovery programmes. All four companies already work together on numerous projects and have found our close proximity and co-location to be a huge advantage in working effectively to keep projects going, as samples couple be easily moved from one CRO to another.

“Through the collaboration, our clients can feel confident that they are still able to access the best specialised CRO in its respective discipline, and also dip into the services that they need at different stages of their project. In the past few weeks, we have seen a marked increase in new work and projects with clients coming to us for our specialist DMPK expertise,” he adds. “There is a genuine appetite for access to niche CROs that are leaders in their field.”

Robin Wilkes, director of business development at Charnwood Molecular, said: “In these unprecedented times, the need for new therapeutics is higher than ever. Being co-located at BioCity Nottingham has huge advantages and enables us to navigate some of the barriers that are affecting other businesses, ensuring our clients’ projects can continue.”

Victoria Coulthard, head of business development at Reach Separations, added: “We already have a proven track record of working together to provide services for clients across the globe. By coming together and offering a collaborative approach, we are able to build on this, and help clients expedite their drug discovery projects in spite of the lockdown.”

Gary Allenby, chief scientific officer at Aurelia Bioscience, believes that co-localisation of subject experts has come to the fore in the current climate: “Together at BioCity Nottingham, Aurelia Bioscience, Charnwood Molecular, Reach Separations and XenoGesis have been able to provide seamless business continuity for drug discovery programmes, combatting the disruption that is being experienced elsewhere in the sector.”