GENTRONIX EXPANDS SERVICES TO MEET GROWING GLOBAL DEMAND

UK-based Contract Research Organisation (CRO) Gentronix – a specialist toxicology CRO based at Alderley Park – is expanding its service range to provide new, specialist services in the field of dermal toxicology, amidst increasing global demand that is driving further growth for the business.

Gentronix’s comprehensive development and growth strategy has enabled it to increase capacity for genetic and skin toxicology testing from its laboratories at Alderley Park, whilst now adding a range of new services including OECD guideline 3D in vitro skin irritation & corrosion models, and phototoxicity endpoints.

The addition of these new services to Gentronix’s portfolio strengthens its ability to support clients in meeting their regulatory requirements, identifying potential hazards within project pipelines and managing risk for their materials. The addition of skin corrosion and irritation endpoints through the use of 3D in vitro skin models enables Gentronix to perform studies that form part of chemical safety assessments, providing upstream toxicology assessments to the currently available in vitro skin sensitisation services at Gentronix.

Corrosion and irritation tests enable direct chemical damage to the skin surface to be assessed, identified and the risk managed. This then feeds into a wider safety assessment, including whether a chemical has the potential to result in an allergic reaction after exposure to the skin, which is assessed through the skin sensitisation endpoints already available at Gentronix. The addition of phototoxicity services, planned for Q2 2021, further complements this offering by enabling the assessment of whether materials have adverse toxicity profiles after UV light activation.

In providing these new services, Gentronix is adding capacity to the market and importantly delivering additional specialist testing services to existing and new clients through a broader dermal toxicity offering led by an expert scientific team. The firm anticipates that these new services will contribute to a 20% increase in revenues across the next 12 months.

The expansion forms part of the business’s ambitious scale-up strategy which saw Gentronix achieve record revenues last year, with the firm continuing its plans to double employee numbers in the next three years to the benefit of the local economy.

Last year, the business secured development capital funding from Northern VCTs and appointed CRO industry leader Alan Morgan as non-executive Chairman. The firm also recently strengthened its executive management team by appointing Laura Hinton to help facilitate the firm’s ‘scale at pace’ growth ambitions.

Managing Director at Gentronix, Matt Tate, said: “Following the round of investment secured at the end of 2019, we have embarked on a growth strategy looking at increasing capacity within our existing business and also expanding the service areas we operate in.

“So far, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed pressures on capacity within the wider sector, increasing delays without relaxation of regulatory deadlines which is causing challenges for businesses. By adding this new service capacity to the market - without a backlog of projects - means that we can turn around requests and testing quickly in 2021, with significant commercial advantages for clients and enabling our continued growth as a business.”

As a leading predictive toxicology CRO, operating from its GLP laboratory base at Alderley Park, Gentronix’s work helps develop safe products used by millions of people around the world including pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, fragrances, foods, flavours, personal care products and cosmetics.

For more information about Gentronix, please visit http://www.gentronix.co.uk/