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Why we’re recognised as a science city…

Newcastle was designated as one of six UK Science Cities in 2005 in recognition of the world-class research being untaken by its universities and the potential of its science industry base. In a special series, bdaily goes behind the scenes of a few of the businesses that are helping achieve world recognition.

Business: e-Therapeutics

Achievement: Revolutionising drug discovery

Tucked away in the centre of Newcastle is a £50 million market cap business that quite simply is revolutionising the way in which new drugs are being discovered around the globe.

e-Therapeutics, a UK listed business, was established back in 2001 by Professor Malcolm Young, as a Newcastle University spin-out enterprise, but by 2015 is expected to be among the world’s most profitable pharmaceutical companies.

Having developed a calculus to work out the net impact of drug molecules on proteins in the body, e-Therapeutics is now helping huge pharmaceutical companies from all over the world de-risk their clinical research in order to carry out safe and efficient medical trials, by providing an accurate understanding of the effect and impact that the drug will have on cells before clinical trials begin.

Armed with its scientific calculation, the 18-strong team, based in the heart of Newcastle – one of only six cities in the UK recognised as a Science City – has developed a sound and lucrative platform for safe and efficient drug discovery that is attracting world-wide attention.

And seemingly, the exciting stuff is still to come as the company is preparing to unveil the results of three clinical trials of its own drugs in 2012/13 which could provide a major breakthrough in the treatment of three serious illnesses; the first is a treatment for Clostridium difficile (C Difficile) -a life-threatening intestinal bacterium that kills tens of thousands of patients a year, the second is an anti-depressant for people with severe depression and the third, Young’s “favourite”, is a cancer drug that is expected to be particularly suited to combating difficult to treat brain, liver and thyroid cancers.

Drug discovery and development is of huge value, not only in terms of its scientific impact, helping medics to treat illnesses that were once deemed untreatable, but for investors too.

e-Therapeutics secured an additional £17.6 million funding from investors who recognise the huge commercial potential in its drug discovery techniques, which will go a long way in helping the business to realise its ambitious, yet realistic growth plans of becoming a global leader in this exciting new science.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .