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Neuroscience specialist chooses Newcastle for UK HQ

Newcastle is continuing to thrive as a fast-growing life science hub, as Neurexpert Limited has chosen the city as the base for its new UK headquarters.

Relocating the company’s core services to Newcastle, the provider of expertise in neuroscience was drawn to the region for its increasingly revered research community and will form close links with Newcastle University.

The business provides essential functional and mechanistic data to aid successful neuroscience drug discovery. Its research ultimately supports the development of treatments for diseases of the brain and nervous system.

Neurexpert works with a variety of companies ranging from small biotech to top pharmaceutical companies in North America, Asia and Europe; providing expertise that can assist project progression at all stages of the drug discovery process from target validation and early stage screening through to functional biomarker studies to aid clinical development.

Founder and CEO of Neurexpert Dr Stuart Neale said: “The vital and thriving neuroscience research community at Newcastle University is a stimulating unique environment to support the development of novel medicines, providing a synergy between basic and clinical science, and we are delighted and excited to be working here.”

Professor Mark Cunningham of Newcastle University added: “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Neurexpert in terms of delivering high quality research focused on drug development for diseases of the brain.

“The combination of our electrophysiology skill sets and techniques and those available from Neurexpert will provide a number of innovative platforms that will bridge the translational gap and ultimately facilitate providing better treatments for patients.”

Newcastle University is a Russell Group University, which ranks 16th in the world for global research power and is 8th in the world for Medical and Life Sciences research quality.

Professor David Burn, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Medical Sciences said: “I am delighted that Neurexpert have chosen Newcastle University as their new UK Headquarters.

“I believe that via the University and our NHS partners in Newcastle and the North East can offer companies a fantastic opportunity by creating an “accelerated access ecosystem” to fast track discoveries through into benefit for patients.”

The region has nearly 50,000 STEM students distributed across the five North East universities and 94 per cent of Newcastle University students are in a job or further training within six months of graduating.

Beth Dennis is a recent graduate from Newcastle University and has just secured a new role as a Senior Lab Technician for Neurexpert.

She said: “It’s great that a company with such a good name in their field of work have chosen Newcastle as a base. I am so lucky to be working for such a reputable organisation for what is my first role since graduating – I also look forward to moving into the city from Northallerton in order to be closer to work.”

The North East life science and healthcare sectors are significant jobs contributors, employing over 5,000 people in almost 200 businesses and is increasingly recognised as a key cluster in the UK with a higher density of Life Science companies than London.

Director of Inward Investment at Invest Newcastle, Catherine Walker said: “Neurexpert brings valuable expertise to Newcastle’s thriving life sciences sector, with the city widely recognised as an international centre of expertise.

“Ahead of Newcastle Laboratory opening on Newcastle Science Central next year, Invest Newcastle is focussed on attracting businesses like Neurexpert to the city; in turn allowing them to benefit from talent, state of the art laboratories and world-renowned academic expertise for collaboration in innovation.

“Newcastle’s track record in the commercialisation of treatments and products further supports Neurexpert’s plans for growth here in the city.”