Discovery Services platform boosts UK life sciences R&D and international competitiveness
The Medicines Discovery Catapult Virtual R&D Discovery Services platform helps UK SMEs to access medicines and drug discovery services and state-of-the-art equipment, enabling deeper market penetration and access to a wider network of customers.
XenoGesis and Medicine’s Discovery Catapult have worked together to assist UK clients with their drug discovery projects. Their expertise combined with our DMPK knowledge has helped to guide clients and give them next step recommendations. Through their platform, Medicine’s Discovery Catapult directly delivers benefit to UK drug discovery projects while simultaneously feeding into the UK’s dynamic CRO ecosystem.
Channelling access to facilities and services for promising SMEs
Drug discovery is complex, costly and requires many skills. The industry has moved from a fully integrated model to one which is performed through a ‘virtual’, or fully outsourced approach. It is also increasingly reliant on SMEs as a source of innovation. However, 42% of biotech SMEs have fewer than 5 employees and require access to the very best scientific expertise and technology.
To address this, Medicines Discovery Catapult established the Virtual R&D Discovery Services platform that leverages Medicines Discovery Catapult’s extensive drug discovery expertise and relationships to match UK SMEs with the best Contract Research Organisations (CROs).
The Discovery Services platform – launched in partnership with twenty-two UK CROs – combines full service and specialist private sector CROs and expert labs providing medicines discovery expertise, drug discovery services, and state-of-the-art assays.
This approach means that high-quality drug discovery projects are channelled through best-in-class service providers, whilst also providing CROs in the platform with the benefit of deeper market penetration and access to new customers they would not have previously reached.
