Inaphaea prides itself on conducting science that is reproducible, human-relevant, and translatable to ensure efficient progress through discovery and preclinical development. Patient-derived cells (PDCs) are at the heart of Inaphaea’s work and represent the first step toward the true humanisation of preclinical science.
Whilst we are led by science, we are backed by deep commercial understanding, and appreciate the challenges faced by drug developers. This is thanks to the strength of our commercial team which combines business acumen and experience with scientific expertise.
In this blog, we introduce the Inaphaea commercial team and find out what they have to say about the company’s ongoing growth and development.
In drug development, many gaps exist for robust and reliable validated translational models in important areas of oncology, as well as a significant unmet need for treatments in the women’s health space. As a translational contract research organisation (tCRO), Inaphaea provides testing services that generate the necessary data, analysis, and insights to aid decision-making in translational drug development.
Based on market and client demand, we have already expanded Inaphaea’s service offering by forming collaborative partnerships with a hand-picked selection of innovative biotech companies. These offerings span enzyme assays, in vitro liver cell assays, AI toxicity prediction, biological modelling, and advanced statistical analysis, and pre-formulation and formulation development. We are dedicated to enhancing our capabilities, particularly in the realm of 2D/3D co-culture techniques, reflecting our commitment to innovation and partnership within the research community.
Meet the commercial team
The Inaphaea team is made up of experts in pharmaceutical services. Below, we introduce Inaphaea’s team of commercial and scientific consultants.
Dr Andrew Carnegie – Head of Strategic Commercial Development
Andrew has been working in business development since 2006, after finishing a PhD in cell and molecular biology and a postdoc studying dopamine receptors. During his career, he has worked for companies in the R&D space, pre-clinical and biomarkers for clinical support, winning multiple back-to-back sales awards in several companies. His company history includes: Organovo for 3D cell technologies, Aptuit for pre-clinical services projects, and Millipore for early-stage screening studies. Since moving into business development, Andrew has never lost his passion for science and science-based technologies, and that forms the basis of his approach when talking with project partners. Learn more about Andrew in our meet the team blog here.
“Our tCRO concept addresses a clear gap in the market for improving the translation of early drug discovery projects towards the clinic,” Andrew explains. “Fundamental issues exist in drug development, including the failure to translate academic research due to lack of expertise, failure in clinical trials due to poorly understood preclinical data, and failure to recognise the needs of women in drug development. Inaphaea’s advanced preclinical capabilities aim to generate deep biological understanding to de-risk clinical trials. By performing the science at the early, preclinical stage of development, Inaphaea can generate biological data that can be understood and utilised later in the development phases, offering significant financial savings to drug developers. With this in mind, we are confident that our strategy and approach to building a strong customer base will guide us towards a long-term, prosperous future.”
Dr Mark Eccleston – Scientific Consultant
Mark is a polymer chemist and biotechnology entrepreneur with over 30 years’ experience working in translation science in both drug and biomarker development. Mark is a former BBSRC enterprise fellow and holds an MBA (entrepreneurship). He is an inventor on over 30 patents ranging from peptide and CAR-T cell therapies to nucleosome enrichment as well as biodegradable chewing gum. Mark is the Managing Director of OncoLytika Ltd, a UK-based technology consultancy company with a successful track record of securing grant funding, strategic business development and client project management. He serves on the scientific and commercial advisory boards of ValiRx and Inaphaea. He is a scientific founder of several companies, including Volition, where he currently serves as an independent scientific advisor supporting Nu.Q Discover.
Mark says: “There is growing interest in and demand for PDC models, owing to their relevance and translatability in humans, as well as their ability to support the principles of the 3Rs – Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement. The 3Rs provide a framework for performing more humane animal research and are embedded in national and international legislation and regulations on the use of animals in scientific procedures. One key area where PDCs are being effectively utilised is in oncology research. PDCs derived from cancer patients serve as invaluable tools for screening drug sensitives and exploring new treatment options. This area holds massive potential, with the global oncology market expected to be worth USD 556.35 billion by 2030.”
Dr Gareth Griffiths – Scientific Consultant
Gareth holds a PhD in immunology/oncology from the University of Birmingham and is now a scientific specialist in the isolation and growth of patient derived tumour cells. He has several years postdoctoral experience at the University of Manchester which was followed by a role as a specialist in high content imaging assay development at AstraZeneca. Following this, he co-founded Imagen Therapeutics, a company providing a CRO service to pharma and biotech. An entrepreneurial driven scientist, he developed Imagen successfully over a 14-year period. He has proven expertise at every level of developing a company, encompassing commercial activities all the way to scientific project delivery. Combining his knowledge of advanced cell image analysis, patient derived tumour development and expertise in immunology, he is now working to support Inaphaea as a scientific consultant. Find out more about Gareth’s background here.
“Inaphaea’s capabilities have been strengthened by the acquisition of Imagen’s scientific assets, which includes a biobank of close to 500 PDCs,” Gareth explains. “At the same time, we have been partnering with companies to enable us to offer collaborative services and enable a seamless, integrated experience to clients across a broad range of preclinical research capabilities and under one single contract. In addition to our ongoing collaborations with universities and academic institutions, we are actively reaching out to small biotech and large pharma companies to explore how we can support the translation of their research. This outreach has been met with a positive reception and uptake as we discuss both our product and service offerings and the potential for exclusive licenses in specific areas.”
Contact Inaphaea’s commercial team
Inaphaea’s advanced preclinical capabilities aim to generate deep biological understanding to de-risk clinical trials. Need more information about our assay development process, or to discuss our current assay offerings? Get in touch here.