Fusion spin out sees fastest growing profits and Straight goes into Europe
UNIVERSITY spin out specialist FUSION IP has seen one of its portfolio firms named among the 50 fastest growing firms in the UK.
Simcyp, a modelling and similuation company that spun out of the University of Sheffield’s School of Medicine and Biometrical Science in 2001, is listed 15th in Business XL magazine’s annual Rising Stars research.
Simcyp, in which Sheffield-based Fusion IP has a 22% shareholding, saw turnover of £3.1m last year – an increase of 56% compared to the previous year. Pre-tax profits also rose to £1m.
Business XL magazine’s annual Rising Stars research identifies the top 50 fast-growing UK companies and is the only such ranking to take into account both profit and turnover growth, as well as assessing future prospects through interviews with the featured companies. This year, the 50 Rising Stars have combined sales of £1.3bn and profits of £147m.
Director of Scientific Research and Development at Simcyp, Professor Amin Rostami-Hodjegan, who is also Professor of Systems Pharmacology at the University of Sheffield, said: “For a university spin-out to be recognised as one of the fastest growing companies in the UK is fantastic and an achievement of which we are very proud.
“Our research and development is guided by the Simcyp Consortium of pharmaceutical companies which allows us to deliver world-class science geared towards the needs of the industry. It is this close collaboration that underpins Simcyp’s success.
“Simcyp continues to go from strength to strength, investing heavily in researching, developing and expanding the team to ensure future growth.”
Fusion IP, previously called Biofusion, was established in 2002 to commercialise university-generated intellectual property and has signed long term agreements with two of the UK’s leading research universities, the University of Sheffield and Cardiff University, giving a combined R&D spend attributable to Fusion IP of around £185m a year.
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RECYCLING group Straight is heading to Europe this week to exhibit at two of Europe’s major recycling and waste management trade fairs as part of its plan to strengthen its presence in mainland Europe for its range of waste and recycling containers.
The Leeds-based company is attending Entsorga-Enteco 2009, in Cologne, Germany, Europe’s largest recycling management and environmental technology trade fair which is held every three years.
Then it is moving on to Ecomondo, in Rimini, Italy. Ecomondo is an international trade fair for materials and energy recovery and sustainable development and is Europe’s largest annual expo for businesses in the environmental and sustainability sectors.
Straight currently has successful and profitable partnerships to sell products in Canada, the US, Australia, Ireland and Israel via local partners, supported in some areas with local manufacturing. It said it intends to establish similar relationships in mainland Europe.
