Sygnature has announced the set-up of a state-of-the-art Early Candidate Developability Screening Group. Located at our headquarters in Nottingham, UK, the new service line will expand our offerings to customers by bridging into formal preclinical drug development and paving the way for clinical trials.

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

Sygnature will create robust development strategies tailored to the characteristics of each individual API and through access to our well-equipped preformulation and formulation development laboratories rapidly and unbiasedly identify the most phase-appropriate development approach to overcome even the most complex of bioavailability challenges.

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”.

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”.

Latest Opportunities

The Open University Mentoring Opportunity

Are you looking to get involved in some mentoring in the New Year? For 2026,…

Mental Health First Aid training offer for the Medilink Midlands network

What Red Umbrella offer With tailored delivery and expert integration, every Red Umbrella engagement is…

Office for Life Sciences Bulletin – 4 December 2025

The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) is a joint unit between the Department of Health…

Latest News

New pilot programme launches to address life sciences skills gap across Midlands and East of England

Medilink Midlands partners with the University of Warwick and Anglia Ruskin University to upskill future life…

IC26 is here, and it’s bigger than ever!

As part of our mission to support regional innovation, and with TBAT Innovation as a…

Join 3P innovation and ISPE UK Affiliate for the UK Pharmaceutical & MedTech Innovations event

Join 3P innovation and ISPE UK Affiliate as we bring together industry leaders, innovators, and…

Your innovation deserves recognition

The Medilink Midlands Awards are now open, celebrating outstanding innovation across the region’s medtech and life sciences sector.

With 10 categories to enter, now’s the time to showcase your achievements.
Extended Deadline Date: 16th January

Start your application today.

Almost There! Just Tell Us a Bit About You​

Almost There! Just Tell Us a Bit About You​

Almost There! Just Tell Us a Bit About You​

Almost There! Just Tell Us a Bit About You​

Almost There! Just Tell Us a Bit About You​

Almost There! Just Tell Us a Bit About You​

Almost There! Just Tell Us a Bit About You​

Almost There! Just Tell Us a Bit About You​

Almost There! Just Tell Us a Bit About You​

Almost There! Just Tell Us a Bit About You​

Almost There! Just Tell Us a Bit About You​