SmartKem Further Expands Team in Europe with Addition of Three New Recruits

SmartKem Further Expands Team in Europe with Addition of Three New Recruits

COO and two scientists to join the Manchester team to support SmartKem’s growth plans.

(17 September 2012) - SmartKem Limited, the developer of high performance, organic semiconductor materials for flexible electronics, today announced the appointment of three new team members in Europe. Dr. Hugh Williamson will be welcomed as Chief Operating Officer, whilst Dr. Muhammad Raza and Dr. Keith Lumbard will join as scientists at SmartKem’s dedicated chemistry synthesis labs in Manchester. The last 12 months has seen SmartKem appoint staff in strategic locations across Asia and Europe to further strengthen its technical and commercial activities.

As SmartKem’s third senior appointment in the past six months, following the appointment of Bill Freer as Chairman in March and Gary Tam as Business Development Director in June, Dr. Williamson possesses over 30 years’ experience in the chemicals industry which will be shared in his position as Chief Operating Officer.  Previous roles have seen Dr. Williamson excel in the delivery and introduction of new chemical products at international level. Having spent a number of years as a senior scientist at Kodak, Dr. Williamson’s global experience and proven ability to lead R&D and operations teams will be essential in supporting SmartKem’s commercialisation strategy and the development of future technology. Possessing over 40 years’ combined experience as synthetic chemists, Dr. Lumbard and Dr. Raza will be responsible for the development of next generation organic semiconductor molecules with enhanced performance to complement SmartKem’s already market-leading materials.

“Our latest recruits are another step forward in our vision to become the leading provider of high-mobility organic semiconductor materials and solutions for flexible display backplanes and organic circuits,’’ comments Steve Kelly, CEO at SmartKem. “Hugh was a natural appointment for us as Chief Operating Officer with his strong record of scaling novel organic synthesis methods into commercial processes. This further supports our strategy to maintain strong vertical integration in organic electronics - from molecule design to market application. The appointments of Keith and Muhammad as additional synthetic chemists demonstrate our commitment to develop ultra-high mobility organic semiconductors to meet future-market needs and to extend our leadership in the field. We are delighted to welcome them to the team.”

These new appointments promise to add strength, experience and expertise to the company in order to further develop its presence in the rapidly growing flexible electronics industry. Together, the new members of the team will further support SmartKem’s mission of becoming the leading provider of, ‘p’ type organic semiconductor materials and solutions for ultra-thin and flexible electronics.

For more information on SmartKem and its innovative materials, please call 01745 535190, email enquiries@smartkem.com or visit www.smartkem.com

-ENDS-

About SmartKem

SmartKem is a high tech enterprise developing an exciting new technology platform focusing on high performance organic semiconductor materials that can be ‘printed’ onto lightweight low cost polymer films to deliver flexible circuits. SmartKem’s main objective is to respond to the demand for low cost, low energy, lightweight, rugged electronics. The SmartKem team has proven expertise and experience in the fields of organic semiconductors, specialist ink-technology and printable transistors and was a recent winner of the inaugural Oxford Venturefest gold award for ‘British Technology Innovation of the Year’.

 

 

Optibrium Goes from Strength to Strength as Global Customer Base Continues to Grow

Optibrium celebrates growth in all areas of the company as it enters its fourth year of business

Optibrium, developer of software solutions for drug discovery, today reveals an exciting period of growth across all areas of its business.  Optibrium is celebrating significant expansion in its team of experts, requiring relocation to new, larger premises.  This success is built on the rapidly expanding, global customer base for Optibrium’s primary product, StarDrop. This pioneering drug discovery software platform offers a range of intuitive tools and technologies that guide the selection and design of high quality compounds in drug discovery.

Optibrium, which was founded in 2009, now boasts a customer base of over 50 pharma, biotech and academic groups spread across the globe, including seven of the top ten pharmaceutical companies.  All have been attracted by StarDrop; a highly visual and easy-to-use software package, which provides a unique environment for multi-parameter optimisation of candidate drugs. It includes an interactive designer that helps to explore optimisation strategies, guided by StarDrop’s unique Glowing Molecule visualisation. The suite is complemented by a range of plug-in modules that further expand its capabilities to quickly identify better molecules, thereby reducing costs and timelines and strengthening pipelines.  Reflecting the growth of the business, Optibrium has expanded its software development and support teams to maintain the high level of support provided to its users and this has required the company to move to office space which is 50% larger than its original premises.

The most recent appointment has seen Nick Foster join as Director of Business Development. Nick’s role will see him lead the development of new business opportunities for Optibrium’s products.  Nick has 20 years of experience within the life science industry and academia and joins Optibrium from BioFocus.  Nick’s successful track record in business development is complemented by his early scientific career, spent as an ADME/PK scientist working on drug discovery projects. 

Nick comments, “I am delighted to be joining the Optibrium team.  The company has a fantastic reputation in the industry for its innovative products and offers a dynamic place to work.  I look forward to developing our customer base and being part of Optibrium’s continuing expansion and success.”

CEO Matt Segall comments, “Over the past three years our team has developed our product portfolio and introduced innovative approaches to drug discovery as we expanded our customer base. We have now reached a really exciting phase of rapid growth as the result of this hard work and this provides further inspiration to the whole team who are dedicated to finding ways to help scientists to optimise drug discovery.”

Optibrium is offering StarDrop users the opportunity to win a trip to the American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring National Meeting and Exhibition 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. For more information please visit http://www.optibrium.com/news/competition.php.

For more information about StarDrop and Optibrium’s software solutions please visit www.optibrium.com, alternatively please call +44 (0) 1223 815 900 or email info@optibrium.com.

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About Optibrium Ltd

Optibrium (www.optibrium.com) is dedicated to providing software to guide decisions involving complex, uncertain data in an intuitive way.  Based in Cambridge, UK, Optibrium has a global customer base ranging from top-ten pharmaceutical companies to biotechs and academic groups.  Our mission is to continue to develop new technologies that will optimise project strategy, reduce wasted molecules and experiments, shorten timelines and improve the quality of candidate compounds for our clients.  Optibrium’s primary product, StarDrop, is focused on the drug discovery industry, helping guide scientists to make decisions in the design and selection of high quality drug candidates.  Visit the online community at http://www.optibrium.com/community/ for further discussions on improving the productivity of drug discovery.

For further press information please contact: Sarah Morley, The Scott Partnership, 1 Whiteside, Station Road, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire CW4 8AA, UK Tel: + 44 1477 539539 Fax: +44 1477 539 540 E-mail: optibrium@scottpr.com

Microsaic’s International Partner to present its new Mass Directed Flash System at JASIS 2012

Microsaic Systems plc (AIM: MSYS),  today announces that Biotage AB (Uppsala, Sweden), a leading global supplier of laboratory equipment, will be presenting its fully integrated solution for ‘Mass Directed Flash’ purification at JASIS 2012 (Japan Analytical Scientific Instruments Show) in Makuhari Messe, Japan (5-7 September). This is the first time Biotage has presented the new system, which incorporates Microsaic’s novel miniature mass spectrometer – the Microsaic MiD.

Microsaic entered an agreement in May 2012 with Biotage, previously identified in announcements as ‘an international supplier of laboratory equipment’, to provide its MiD chip-based scientific instrument as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Since then, Microsaic has further developed the MiD and the companies are at an advanced stage of integrating it with Biotage’s flagship Flash purification system Isolera™. The new integrated system is expected to be commercially available in early 2013.

Mass directed flash purification is a powerful technique for collecting compounds based on mass allowing the chemist to purify and analyse compounds at the same time.

Eric Yeatman, Chief Executive of Microsaic Systems, commented:

“One of Microsaic’s key strategic aims is to grow sales of our innovative products as an OEM partner with leading international suppliers of  scientific instruments in specified application areas of chemical separation and purification. Our objective is to benefit from access to an existing customer base and also to make mass spectrometry available to a wide range of new customers and to open new opportunities. We are very pleased at the progress being made with Biotage, which matches unique benefits of our miniaturised instruments with their product development and international commercial capabilities.”

Toshiyuki Yachi, Vice President Marketing of Biotage, added:

“This is a game changer in flash purification that will allow chemists to significantly improve their work flow. We have high expectations on the forthcoming launch of this product that will further strengthen our purification business.”


Contacts

The Scott Partnership (Trade PR) Sarah Morley

+44 (0)1477 539539

About Microsaic Systems
Microsaic Systems develops chip-based scientific instruments for the identification of substances in solids, liquids and gases. The Company's products are based on the 'gold-standard' scientific technique of mass spectrometry (MS).

Microsaic Systems has developed a miniaturised mass spectrometer product, based on its patented, chip-based technologies (ionchip^®, spraychip^® and vac-chip™), that is smaller, lighter, quieter, more energy efficient and cheaper to run than conventional MS systems.

Mass spectrometry (MS) is used across multiple sectors, including government, energy, utilities, pharmaceutical, diagnostics and healthcare, environmental, food and drink, security and defence, and industrial chemicals - a combined market of $3.3 billion in 2010.

Microsaic Systems was established in 2001 by a team including founders from Imperial College London, and was admitted to AIM in April 2011 under the symbol MSYS.

www.microsaic.com

About Biotage

Biotage offers solutions, knowledge and experience in the areas of analytical and medicinal chemistry. Customers include the world’s top pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as leading academic institutes. The company is headquartered in Uppsala, Sweden, with offices in China, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and a worldwide network of distributors. Biotage has 272 employees with sales of 428.4 MSEK in 2011. Biotage is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Stock Exchange. Website: www.biotage.com

http://www.microsaic.com/

Analytical Technology Demonstrates Commitment to Protecting the Environment with Achievement of ISO 14001 Certification

http://www.atiuk.com/

Manchester, UK (September 3, 2012) - Specialist electrochemical sensor manufacturer Analytical Technology Inc. today announced that it has been awarded the ISO 14001 environment management standard, recognising the company’s commitment to minimising its impact on the environment. As the supplier of water and gas monitoring instrumentation to the majority of the UK’s largest utility companies and leading food and beverage, metal finishing and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies across Europe, Analytical Technology is leading by example in matters relating to environmental protection. 

 The ISO 14001 standard assists companies who want to minimise how their processes and operations negatively affect the environment and also provides guidance on how to comply with applicable laws and regulations. In order to obtain this certification, Analytical Technology is monitoring its consumption of fuel, gas, electricity and water in an attempt to reduce waste and energy usage and improve its overall environmental performance.

Analytical Technology manufactures both water and gas monitoring instrumentation to help companies demonstrate compliance with the strict regulations outlined by the Environment Agency (EA) and EU Directives. Industrial companies in the food and beverage, pharmaceutical and metal finishing sectors employ Analytical Technology’s instrumentation to monitor trade effluents to ensure that only safe levels of chemicals are released into the environment. The company’s wide range of water monitors includes dissolved hydrogen sulphide, pH, ammonia, dissolved oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, residual sulphite and several chlorine monitors.

Mike Strahand, General Manager Europe at Analytical Technology, commented: “We are committed to protecting the environment in whatever way possible and everyone in our team has an enhanced awareness of our company environmental policy. As we help companies on a daily basis to minimise their impact on the environment through the use of our water and gas monitors, we are delighted to have received recognition for our continual commitment to operating in an environmentally conscious manner.”

For more information on Analytical Technology’s range of water and gas monitoring instrumentation or further details on the roundtable discussion, please call 0800 8046 062, e-mail sales@atiuk.com or visit www.atiuk.com.

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For further press information please contact: Lindsay Baldry, The Scott Partnership, 1 Whiteside, Station Road, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire CW4 8AA Tel: +44 1477 539539 Fax: +44 1477 539540 e-mail: ati@scottpr.com

 

Greenphire Supports Proposed EU Legislation to Reduce Clinical Trial Administration

King of Prussia, PA (25 Jul 2012) – The European Commission recently announced proposals to address increasing administrative costs and a decline in the number of cross-border clinical trials conducted in the European Union. The proposed legislation, expected to be enacted by 2016, aims to speed up authorization and reporting procedures while ensuring patient safety and data quality. Greenphire, the global leader in clinical payment technologies, today affirmed its support of the new regulation and its focus on alleviating the administrative burden of trials taking place across multiple geographies. Greenphire is committed to reducing administration associated with clinical payment processes through innovative platforms such as its eClinicalGPS technology.

The European Commission reports that the number of clinical trials carried out in the European Union between 2007 and 2011 has dropped by 25 per cent, with applications down from over 5,000 in 2007 to 3,800 in 2011, while administrative costs have doubled. This trend has been attributed to the 2001 Clinical Trials Directive, which imposed tighter controls on monitoring and reporting drug trials. Currently, companies or researchers seeking to conduct clinical trials in more than one EU country must submit separate applications and reports in each country. Under the proposed new system, applicants will only have to submit this information once. The new regulation streamlines this process in order to make pan-Europe an attractive place to conduct trials. According to John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, the new legislation could save over 800 million euros per year in regulatory costs.

John Blakeley, Chief Commercial Officer of Greenphire, voiced his support of the proposed regulation, saying: “Greenphire welcomes new measures to facilitate the implementation of cross-border clinical trials and ease administrative burdens. In addition to achieving its main goal, this legislation will also benefit research in areas such as rare diseases where there may be only a few subjects in each country, and which may otherwise face bureaucratic obstacles."

Blakeley continued, "Greenphire currently helps trial sponsors to implement studies across multiple geographies through our global web-based clinical payment management platform, the eClinicalGPS. In contrast to  more expensive and time consuming manual paper-based payment processes currently used in clinical research, Greenphire's automated electronic system enables sponsors and CROs to automatically distribute payments in over 200 currencies to all investigators, sites and vendors globally.”

To arrange an interview with John Blakeley, please contact the Greenphire team at The Scott Partnership by emailing greenphire@scottpr.com or calling +44 1477 539539.

For further information on Greenphire and its innovative solutions please email: mailto:sales@greenphire.com, call +1 215.948.9251or visit www.greenphire.com.

About Greenphire:

Greenphire is a clinical technology company, headquartered in suburban Philadelphia, which offers web-based clinical payment technology platforms for use by research sites, research universities, sponsors and CROs. Greenphire's clinical payment technologies are designed to automate calculation workflows, approval workflows and execute payments to patients, research sites and clinical vendors on a global basis, in local currency, through a single web portal platform.  Greenphire's technologies are designed to streamline operations, reduce administration, reduce costs and provide analytics and other business intelligence that has not been readily available in the past.

Greenphire's global patient payment technology also incorporates automated electronic messaging functionality that, when combined with payment functionality, effectively improves the clinical experience for patients and sites, drives positive patient behavior to increase patient retention and protocol compliance, and significantly reduces site and study team administration. Learn more about Greenphire’s innovative clinical payment solutions at www.greenphire.com.

The Scott Partnership Appoints Director of Client Services and Business Development in North America

The Scott Partnership Appoints Director of Client Services and Business Development in North America

With a 20-year career in communications, Mario Fante will drive the US business of leading global B2B PR and marketing communications agency

Cheshire, UK (24 July 2012) – The Scott Partnership (www.scottpr.com), a leading global business-to-business PR and marketing communications agency, today announced the appointment of Mario Fante as Director of Client Services and Business Development for North America. With over 20 years experience in global communications, and 12 years specialising in life sciences public relations, Mario has been appointed to support and expand The Scott Partnership’s US client base.

With leadership experience in agency, consulting and corporate environments, Mario is a seasoned communications professional working across a wide spectrum of the life sciences, including drug discovery and development, diagnostics,  DNA sequencing and analysis, informatics, and personalized medicine, as well as in environmental communications. Mario joins The Scott Partnership following his most recent position at PerkinElmer, where he took a leading role in building and driving its global public relations programme. (www.perkinelmer.com)

“As an agency with a compelling record of providing outstanding communications on both sides of the Atlantic, and matchless industry expertise, it is a privilege to become part of such a highly integrated team of top-flight professionals," comments Mario. “Given The Scott Partnership's commitment to making a real impact on behalf of its clients, as well as its skill in keeping ahead of global industry trends, we are very confident that the expansion of the US business will meet with great opportunities for success."

Kath Darlington, founder and CEO of The Scott Partnership, comments, “As a highly experienced and recognised global communications expert within the life sciences industry, Mario will integrate with and complement our growing team perfectly. Many of The Scott Partnership’s clients are headquartered in the US, making it a natural choice for us to appoint a US-based team leader. The company is continually growing and expanding its global footprint, with Mario’s appointment being another promising step forward in our global growth strategy.”

With sixteen years’ experience of working with clients in the science, healthcare, chemical and environment sectors, The Scott Partnership is based in Holmes Chapel in Cheshire with offices in the US and China. The company further expanded its portfolio last year by acquiring two specialist scientific marketing and PR companies Phoenix Marcom Ltd and Kapler Communications Ltd, both based in Cambridge.

About The Scott Partnership

Based near Manchester, UK, The Scott Partnership is a specialist business-to-business PR agency for the healthcare, scientific, technology and pharmaceutical industries, which has grown to become one of the leading communications consultancies in Europe. Founded in 1996, the company’s accelerated growth plan has seen it establish offices in Boston and Shanghai in the past three years as well as recent acquisitions of life science agencies Kapler Communications Ltd and Phoenix Marcom Communications Ltd.

For more information on The Scott Partnership, please call +44 (0)1477 539 539. Alternatively e-mail business@scottpr.com or visit www.scottpr.com.

ERT Acquires invivodata to Establish the Industry’s Most Experienced Provider of Clinical Outcome Assessment Solutions

ERT Acquires invivodata to Establish the Industry’s Most Experienced Provider of Clinical Outcome Assessment Solutions

PHILADELPHIA, PA, July 9 2012 - ERT, a global technology-driven provider of health outcomes services to biopharmaceutical sponsors and contract research organizations (CROs), announced today the acquisition of  invivodata, Inc, a leading provider of electronic Patient Reported Outcomes (ePRO) solutions and Consulting services, based in Pittsburgh, PA.

The transaction was facilitated by the San Francisco-based private equity group, Genstar Capital, LLC who last week announced that they had completed the acquisition of ERT.  The acquisition immediately positions ERT as a leader in Clinical Outcome Assessments (COA).  The combined organization will now offer sponsors, CROs and other third-party vendors a combination of market-leading electronic patient reported outcomes (ePRO)/COA solutions and scientific and regulatory consulting services that is unrivalled in the industry. The invivodata Consulting group bolsters ERT’s position as the scientific thought leader in Health Outcomes Research and complements its market leading position in Cardiac safety and Respiratory outcomes assessment. The acquisition also enhances ERT’s multi-mode ePRO product portfolio with the introduction of a suite of proven site-based and patient-friendly handheld devices that have already been validated to collect therapy-specific diaries, instruments and assessments.

invivodata reported record growth in 2011, stemming from the addition of over 160 clinical projects.  Three consecutive years of growth in bookings, revenue, and profitability has led the company to substantially increase headcount, enabling it to meet the growing needs of its worldwide customer base.  The market for the collection of clinical outcomes data is set to grow by over 50% in the next three years, according to industry reports, and ERT is ideally positioned to grow in this segment and capitalize on its established track-record of innovation to create value for its sponsors and CRO partners with a suite of clinician and patient-centric solutions.

Dr Jeffrey Litwin, ERT’s CEO, states: “For some time, ERT has been working in collaboration with sponsors and partners to establish a new model of delivering value through the centralization of Health Outcomes data. ERT is a leader in providing cardiac safety and respiratory solutions and, by adding invivodata’s team of scientists and technology experts, we accelerated this strategic initiative, which will provide our joint clients with consistent, scientifically accurate Outcome Assessment data which will be accessible from one platform.We are delighted to welcome the new team aboard.”

“Our dedicated team of employees has worked tirelessly over the past 12 years to build a company that delivers true value to our customers,” commented Doug Engfer, CEO of invivodata. “Becoming a part of ERT will enable us to enhance the value we deliver.  We truly appreciate the trust our customers have placed in us, and we look forward to expanding those relationships with our new colleagues at ERT.”

For further information on ERT and its technology and services, please email info@ert.com, call +1 215 972 0420 or visit www.ert.com

For further press information, please contact Patrick Hughes by email, phughes@ert.com, or phone +44 (0) 7703 532 749.

About ERT

ERT (www.ert.com) is a global technology-driven provider of health outcomes research services supporting biopharmaceutical sponsors and Contract Research Organizations (CROs) to achieve their drug development and healthcare objectives. ERT harnesses leading technology coupled with reliable processes and scientific expertise to collect, analyse and report on clinical data to support the determination of health outcomes critical to the approval, labeling and reimbursement of pharmaceutical products. ERT is the acknowledged industry leader in centralized cardiac safety, respiratory efficacy services, electronic Patient Reported Outcomes (ePRO) and Clinical Outcome Assessment solutions.

About invivodata

invivodata (www.invivodata.com) is a fully-integrated Clinical Outcome Assessments (COA) organization delivering regulatory-proven strategic consulting and practical electronic solutions to biopharmaceutical companies who depend upon patient-centered research.  From reliable and scientifically sound consulting that helps research teams effectively develop, execute, and document COA strategies to electronically collecting COA data in global clinical development programs, invivodata helps its customers strategically use patient, clinician, and observer reported outcomes data (PROs, ClinROs & ObsROs) to support labeling claims, enhance reimbursement strategies, and meet other clinical program objectives. Through partnerships with leading CROs and eClinical technology providers, invivodata seamlessly integrates into the clinical trial ecosystem, helping to minimize operational risk and maximize efficiencies.

About Genstar Capital

Genstar Capital (www.gencap.com) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for more than 20 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of operating executives and strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into leading industry businesses. Genstar has more than $3 billion of committed capital under management and targets investments focused on selected sectors within the life science, healthcare services, software and software services, insurance and financial services, and industrial technology industries.