AKA: Are there any trends or technologies currently in the CDMO space that stood out to you?
TVN: One segment of the industry currently seeing significant interest is oral dosage forms for the treatment of obesity. GLP1 analogues and other incretin hormones are providing more therapeutic options for patients and a notable pipeline of next-gen drugs are now targeting oral dosage forms.
Oral administration of these therapeutics has the potential to address patient acceptability, control adverse events and supply chain capacity issues — among other challenges — which will greatly benefit patients as more choices to address obesity and metabolic disorders can reach the market.
AKA: How do you think AI is influencing the pharmaceutical industry?
TVN: AI is also having a notable impact in drug discovery. Off the back of this technology, several compounds have made it into the clinic. Advancing the predictive capabilities of AI through consistent data exposure could unlock even more potential for machine learning to enhance drug development efficiency, allowing patients access to the medicines they need quicker. 
Thierry Van Nieuwenhove, CEO of Quotient Sciences
AKA: What is Quotient Sciences currently up to?
TVN: We are working with technology providers on applications that are “quick wins,” which require minimal disruption to manufacturing protocols, but still provide an impact on short-term efficiency or productivity. We are also working on transformational use cases and aiming to provide benefits in the longer-term. These goals are all aligned with our mission to accelerate drug development.
AKA: Did you debut any new services, products or partnerships at the event? If so, can you tell us about them?
TVN: We collaborate with a small number of industry partners to bring additional value to our customer base. In 2024, we continue to partner with Charles River Laboratories to offer a collaboration that leverages the expertise of both companies to accelerate the candidate selection- to-IND space. Combined, Charles River and Quotient Sciences bring more than a century of experience that we can leverage for our customers.
Additionally, the expansion of our flagship Translational Pharmaceutics platform for drug development remains a key objective in 2024, enhancing how we deliver this service within the US to complement capabilities already offered from our Nottingham, UK, facility.
This gives US-based clients greater flexibility to work with either the FDA or the MHRA. Since 2008, our Translational Pharmaceutics platform has set us apart from other CRO/CDMO providers; we’re excited to develop ever more innovative applications to extend the reach of Translational Pharmaceutics and the impact it can deliver for customer programmes in the future.
