Scottish Biotech Firm Brings Unique Drug Profiling Services to US Pharma
Fast growing Scottish life sciences company, Sistemic Ltd, is expanding its services to encompass the worldwide biotech and pharma markets by establishing a new facility in the States.
The new company, which started trading less than a year ago, offers proprietary services to the biotechnology and pharma sectors allowing these companies to gain unique information regarding the potential repositioning and toxicology of compounds in a wide range of disease areas and covering many modes of action.
Due to the success of Sistemic in Europe, the business is being supported by Scottish Development International (SDI) to drive further growth internationally by establishing a base in Boston strategically positioned in the hub of the US life sciences industry in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The move will see the company build a team to lead operations in the US from one of SDI’s dedicated units overlooking Downtown Boston.
Boasting a first class and internationally experienced management team previously responsible for life sciences companies such as Biopta, Haptogen and ExpressOn, the company’s initial focus is to guide drug repositioning decisions based on the impact of compounds on microRNA and is already in discussions to grow its market share with pharmaceutical partners in the US.
Announcement of the company’s move overseas coincides with a visit to New York this week from Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International chief executive, Lena Wilson, where she will meet with Sistemic chairman, Jim Reid and Board Director Karen Reid.
Jim Reid, chairman, Sistemic, commented: “We want to drive value and growth in the pharmaceutical sector through the development and application of novel drug discovery platforms based on the biology of small non-coding RNA and we see expansion in the USA as an essential next step in our plans to develop a global business serving the major biotech and pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
“As our business has developed we were clear that in order to serve our developing customer base we had to look to overseas markets in addition to our domestic opportunities and the next logical step was to establish an operation in one of the world’s largest hubs for life sciences and biotechnology and the world’s number one market for drug development.”
Lena Wilson, commented: “Sistemic is exactly the kind of ambitious Scottish company that we need to nurture and grow in order to build upon Scotland’s excellent reputation as a country of innovators in the life sciences.”
“This strategic decision to position itself in close proximity to some of the world’s leading life sciences players, as well as Boston’s many world class research institutes and hospitals, will give the company the best possible prospect for internationalisation.”
Sistemic, which has been working with Scottish Enterprise since its inception, is receiving a range of internationalisation support from the enterprise agency’s international arm, SDI, including incorporation and market guidance, relocation assistance and office facilities provision.
SDI offers incubator office support to ambitious Scottish companies who seek to do business in overseas locations. The organisation has dedicated incubator office locations in San Jose, Boston and Houston and has a partnership deal which provides additional facilities in more than 400 cities worldwide.
Sistemic will join SDI’s current active Boston incubator occupants ClinTec International, SI Associates, VisionWare and The University of Aberdeen.
Companies who have graduated from the incubator in Boston and gone on to further develop and grow include innovative software companies IES and Vamosa.