XenoGesis, a UK-based contract research organisation, is investing £250,000 to develop a pioneering range of biological testing procedures (assays), which could help to speed up the rate of drug discovery in the UK.
The company’s investment is supported by a grant of £62,500 from the Nottingham Technology Grant Fund (N’Tech). N’Tech grants are geared towards the growing life science, digital content and clean technologies sectors, and the fund is run by Nottingham City Council. The programme is focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the greater Nottingham area.
Based at BioCity, XenoGesis specialises in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK).
Established in 2011, the company currently employs seven members of staff, including Chief Scientific Officer Dr Manfred Ismair, who will lead the new project, and will add an Associate Research Scientist to the team next month.
XenoGesis' Founder and Managing Director Dr Richard Weaver, commented: 'The funding from N’Tech will allow us to invest in new equipment and to create up to four senior laboratory jobs in the next two years. We look forward to expanding our commercial services and also continuing to help our clients to bring new medicines to the market.'
The funding from N’Tech will allow us to invest in new equipment and to create up to four senior laboratory jobs
Toby Reid, Director at BioCity, added: 'Richard and his team have an enviable track record in the DMPK and drug discovery field and highlight Nottingham’s strength in the life science sector. Innovative companies like XenoGesis should look to BioCity to see how they can benefit from support and funding through schemes such as the N’Tech fund.'
Nottingham boasts one of the UK’s largest bioscience incubators, BioCity Nottingham, and has a longstanding heritage for drug development and discovery with the presence of companies such as Boots and the Queen’s Medical Centre – one of the UK’s biggest teaching hospitals and a hub for biomedical research. Nottingham is also one of the ‘big five’ centres for life sciences in the UK, alongside Oxford, Cambridge, London and Manchester.
N’Tech is a core element of the Nottingham Growth Plan blueprint for the city’s future business growth. Measures introduced as part of the plan have played a key role in encouraging new business formation through various finance and support packages.
N’Tech grants are funded solely through the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF). Nottingham City Council secured RGF from the Government for grants to help fast track development of businesses based in the city. The funding can provide grants of £20,000 to £1m for each successful company to support growth and expansion.
The N’Tech fund has so far had 34 successful applications across the digital content, life sciences and clean technology sectors and awarded grants to the value £4m with more than 700 jobs created and safeguarded.