Cyprotex gets bigger in the US

DRUG testing company Cyprotex has announced that it is planning to virtually double the size of its US operations near Boston in Massachusettes.

The company is set to increase the size of the facility it gained with the purchase of the Apredica business from 4,400 sq ft to 8,200 sq ft.

It said the expansion, due to take place in January,, was due to “strong demand” for its services in North America, as well as growing worldwide demand for the in vitro toxicology services provided by the site. Revenues in the first six months of the US facility climbed to £1.27m, compared with £530,000 in the same period in 2010.

Cyprotex CEO Dr Tony Baxter, said:  “Cyprotex’s increasingly acute need to expand the Watertown facility is the consequence of a series of successful strategic efforts, including our entry into the in vitro toxicology market.  

“In 2011, we have continued to focus on growth, most recently with the launch of our new genomic ADME service, gADME, which allows tailored dosage regimens of drugs based on genetics.

“This new service opens new commercial possibilities for compounds that historically may have had to be discontinued from development.  With this new technology, Cyprotex is bringing personalised medicine into discovery programmes.”

Dr. Katya Tsaioun, Cyprotex’s chief scientific officer, added:  “Due to the increasing problems the pharmaceutical industry is having with toxicity, we anticipate growing demand for Cyprotex’s in vitro toxicology services.  

“These services allow drug discovery companies to remove toxic compounds from development earlier and at a lower cost than traditional methods.  We are still in the early stages of a technological revolution regarding toxicology that is similar to the revolution seen in ADME. 

“Before then, 40% of drugs failed in clinical trials due to ADME reasons.  Now that figure is 7% and falling.”