Dr Stewart Adams OBE, the inventor of ibuprofen, officially opened the third laboratory in Sygnature Discovery’s purpose-designed and built facility in Nottingham, UK.
This is the largest laboratory in the company’s operations, located in the Laurus Building, BioCity Nottingham, with the capacity to house 25 medicinal chemists and in vitro biologists.
Sygnature Discovery currently employs 56 laboratory-based scientists in three laboratories and has room to accommodate more than 70 chemists and biologists. There is additional space to build further laboratories and offices for new staff.
Following the official opening, a drug discovery symposium attended by clients, pharmaceutical professionals, students from local universities, and Sygnature staff took place.
It began with a welcome by Toby Reid, director, BioCity Nottingham, and an introduction by Dr Simon Hirst, chief executive of Sygnature Discovery. It continued with scientific presentations by speakers including Dr John Dixon of JD International Consulting (formerly vp, Drug Discovery, at AstraZeneca r&d Charnwood); Dr Pete Strong, cso of RespiVert (part of Janssen Biotech); Prof Michael Shipman, University of Warwick and Prof Christopher Moody, University of Nottingham.
Hirst said: ‘I am very pleased that Sygnature Discovery has been able to celebrate its on-going growth and success with a symposium of world-class science. It was a highly enjoyable occasion and focused on what I feel sets Sygnature Discovery apart from its competitors – the science. Over the past seven years, the intellectual input and practical laboratory skills of our high-calibre chemists and bioscientists has been crucially important to the success of our clients’ drug discovery projects.
‘It is also the reason why Sygnature Discovery has grown to 65 employees and increased its turnover by 40% in two successive financial years.’