Can Screening Services help identify Drug Candidate Potential at Earlier Stages?

“There is an increasing need for engaging the formulation scientist at an earlier stage and most importantly having constant and iterative dialogue with the DMPK, Pharmacology and Chemistry teams." Richard Weaver

Nottingham CRO Sygnature Discovery has announced an Early Candidate Developability Screening Group that will provide customers with a means of bridging into formal pre-clinical drug development. The new service line will create robust development strategies tailored to the characteristics of each individual API.

With over £1m of capital investment already committed, the new world-class facility and business unit is expected to be operational in September 2021 and is being set up to work along-side the complementary chemistry, in vitro and in vivo pharmacology and DMPK capabilities.

Dr Richard Weaver SVP of Pre-Clinical Development commented on the new service offering: “There is an increasing need for engaging the formulation scientist at an earlier stage and most importantly having constant and iterative dialogue with the DMPK, Pharmacology and Chemistry teams. Inadequate bioavailability in many late-stage research and development compounds is a real modern-day challenge. There is often a way forward if the reasons for the poor bioavailability are not due to DMPK reasons. A key part of this process is making the human efficacious dose prediction range as early as possible and feeding this information to the formulating scientists, along with the theoretical gains that can be made.”

Overcoming barriers to market

Dr Mark Saunders, previously founder and CEO of Kuecept is working with Sygnature Discovery to help build this value-added capability. Dr Saunders said: “I am delighted to be working with the team at Sygnature Discovery to help build this new capability. Already we have been able to attract leading scientific talent to drive this initiative and I am confident of the advice and experimental capability that we will be able to give to clients to help get much needed new medicines on the market with minimal hurdles and the maximal chance of the achieving right drug exposure to fit the need.”

Dr Paul Overton, Chief Operating Officer, continued “Our expansion of the value chain into early CMC development will be of significant benefit to our customers as we partner with them from early drug discovery. The expansion into the formulation space fits with our strategic goal of being able to have the line of sight of the clinic and feeding this into our earliest discussions with the customer to maximise their chance of clinical success.”

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