Member Article

Durham chemical company jets off to put North East on world stage

A Durham-based, chemical research and development firm is preparing to seek out new business opportunities in the United States, Japan and Australia.

High Force Research, which provides a range of services allied to new product development in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and fine chemicals industries, plans to target important, untapped markets further afield from its UK-wide client base.

Head of business development Dr Stella James flies to America next month for the 2015 Pharmaceutical ChemOutsourcing conference and exhibition in New Jersey on September 14-17, which brings together buyers and suppliers from leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Dr James will then be part of a UK delegation of companies targeting the Australian market when she attends the AusBiotech exhibition in Melbourne on October 7-9, before flying on to BioJapan in Yokohama on October 14-16 as part of an EU-supported mission for companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology field.

Dr James said: “The majority of our clients are European-based but we want to expand those boundaries and show that a North East company can be at the forefront of chemical research and development.

“We are targeting collaborative partnerships with emerging companies, start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises and we want to be seen as their chemistry partner of choice from proof of concept of their product or technology through to commercialisation.

“The US is the largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology market with more companies and more money to spend, so it is vital we get out there. The Australian market is growing and we see a need for our expertise and services out there, while the Japanese market is well established but still growing so there is a lot of scope for us.”