S. M. Discovery Group (SMDG)
SMDG is a biotechnology company dedicated to delivering efficacious, safe and disease modifying therapies to save lives and improve health.
Through our R&D, we are addressing the lack of safe and effective gene therapies for some of the most debilitating diseases, particularly neurological and rare diseases. We have developed a patent protected biotechnology platform for targeted delivery of nucleic acid medicines across biological barriers, such as the blood-brain barrier and have an expanding intellectual property portfolio including granted and pending patents.
* SMDG has been recognised as a Life Science Innovator 2023 (one of UK most innovative companies)
* SMDG’s NLC technology platform was recognized as one of the break-through and significant/notable (findings and technologies reported) papers of 2019 by the Fluids and Barriers of the CNS (2020 publication). * SMDG was a finalist in 2021 in the UK Bionow awards.
* SMDG’s disruptive technology has been profiled in over 160 global media outlets, journals, biotechnology and medical news.
* SMDG has received funding from the European Commission, UK Department of Trade, UK. Innovation SuperNetwork, European Union Regional Development Fund, UK North East Local Enterprise Partnership.
Dr Z. Shadi Farhangrazi
Chief Executive Officer
S. Moein Moghimi
Chair, Science Advisory Board and Co Founder
Scendea
Scendea was founded as a result of a management buyout of the product development and regulatory consulting function of a clinical research organisation. Our origin dates back over 20 years, with involvement in over 1,000 development programmes.
Our international team offers strategic and operational support in the fields of quality/CMC, non-clinical/toxicology, clinical/medical and regulatory, which guide products efficiently from early development to marketing approval. Our scientific excellence, industry experience, commercial awareness and a collaborative approach allow our expert team to solve complex issues associated with medicinal product development. Scendea has team members based in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and the US, who deliver innovative and high-quality solutions aligned to jurisdiction-specific regulatory requirements. At Scendea we collaborate, innovate, and together with our clients, we succeed.
Claire Martin
CBO
Stuart Hunter
Senior Business Development Manager
Scottish Development International
SDI has a network of offices around the world and provides a wide range of support services covering each phase of international activity, including: identifying potential partners, scoping financial incentives, R&D grants, business mentoring, market intelligence, business location information and investor aftercare. The Scottish Health Technology sector has more than 700 organisations and 41,000 people, with strengths in Precision Medicine, Digital Health, MedTech and Diagnostics, and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP). Scotland has leading companies working in the sector, an availability of talent, a supportive ecosystem, academic excellence, and connected supply chain.
OUR SERVICES - essential market information and single point of contact for access to Scottish companies, research and clinical organisations, the Scottish Government, public agencies, support, and potential investors.
Laurent Mélin-Quinn
Sr.Inward Investment Specialist for Scotland- Medtech & AI focus
Roland Linder
Senior Trade Advisor
Neil Guthrie
Specialist - Inward Investment
Sekisui
Our facility in the UK has over 40 years of microbial fermentation and purification experience and are in the midst of a $19M GMP expansion to expand drug substance manufacturing. We offer expertise in bioprocess development, scale up and manufacturing of enzymes, plasmids, chromatography ligands and other proteins for use in biopharmaceuticals.
Jim Alferman
Associate Director, Business Development
Silence Therapeutics
Our proprietary mRNAi GOLD platform enables highly specific gene silencing of any gene expressed in liver hepatocytes, opening up the potential to treat many diseases - from rare hematological disorders to widespread cardiovascular diseases. The validated and modular nature of this approach means we can move very rapidly from target identification through to IND/CTA enabling studies. Products developed using our technology are patient friendly with subcutaneous administration and infrequent dosing.
The Company is in a strong position to maximize the potential of its IP and technology through collaborations and the advancement of internal programs toward the clinic. SLN360 is a GalNAc conjugated siRNA directed against Lp(a), an independent risk factor for CVD. Lp(a) is a lipoprotein with prothrombotic, proinflammatory and proatherogenic properties. High levels of Lp(a) are independently associated with CHD, unstable angina, myocardial infarction and other CVD complications. SLN360 has demonstrated up to 98% knockdown of serum Lp(a) in humans, with significant reduction still observed 150 days post single dose.SLN124 is a GalNAc conjugated siRNA drug for the treatment of disorders associated with iron overload and ineffective erythropoiesis. Initial clinical development will be in β-thalassemia and polycythemia vera. Through it’s highly specific silencing of TMPRSS6 in hepatocytes, SLN124 is designed to correct the underlying defect in iron homeostasis, reducing iron overload and improving erythropoiesis. This is a novel approach and is expected to address serious unmet medical needs associated with currently available therapeutic options. SLN124 has demonstrated highly potent, robust and long-lasting impact on serum iron and hepcidin levels in a healthy human volunteer phase 1 study. SLN124 is currently being evaluated in a phase 1 study with non-transfusion dependent thalassemia patients and a Phase 1/2 with subjects diagnosed with polycythemia vera.
Joana Santos
Business Development, Senior Manager
SomaServe
SomaServe operate the PolyNaut platform: a non-viral, polymer nanovesicle technology for intracellular, targeted delivery of nucleic acid-based therapeutics (NATs) therapeutics to the brain and other hard to target tissues and cell types.
SomaServe's PolyNaut platform addresses the ‘delivery problem’ for intracellular, targeted delivery of nucleic acid-based therapeutics and protein therapeutics. This includes mRNA, siRNA, pDNA and ASOs.
PolyNaut technology addresses shortcomings of viral or lipid-based delivery technologies by encapsulating a range of therapeutic modalities into polymer nanovesicles that are stable in biological conditions, can penetrate biological barriers such as the blood brain barrier effectively, and selectively target different tissues and cell types.
Dr Sam Barker
Chief Business Officer
Sygnature Discovery
Sygnature Discovery - enabling success in drug discovery
Sygnature Discovery is a leading independent provider of integrated drug discovery resource and expertise. Since 2011, 35 compounds discovered by Sygnature for our customers have entered pre -clinical development and so far 20 of these have progressed to clinical trials (Phases I, II and III).
We add considerable value to our clients research projects by providing intellectual input and drug discovery expertise to accelerate target validation, hit identification, hit -to -lead, lead optimisation and preclinical testing. This includes medicinal chemistry, in vitro biology, in vivo pharmacology, computational chemistry, informatics, DMPK, protein sciences and pre -clinical form & formulation.
Sygnature Discovery is a CRO who's focus is value creation for our clients, through the application of drug discovery know -how and close working relationships. We have built a team of over 600 staff including pharmaceutical industry -experienced research scientists (over 80% PhD qualified) with the ability to collaborate on an equal footing with our clients’ scientists to drive drug discovery projects towards the clinic.
Dr Katie Headland
Business Development Manager
