The UK-based contract research organization (CRO) is private equity-backed and has research facilities in Nottingham and Alderley Park, UK with more than 200 research scientists.
The new office will be located in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA, outside of Boston, and follows the appointment of the company’s first US-based business development representative.
“The US is Sygnature’s largest market and one where we see perhaps the biggest growth potential,” Sygnature Discovery’s CEO Dr. Simon Hirst told us.
“We have since long had customers in the US and we have developed some great working relationships; in order to build on this and better serve our US customer base it made sense to have an office in the region,” he said.
Andy Lindstrom, director of marketing, Sygnature Discovery, said the company chose Cambridge as its first US location as many of its clients – current and potential – are based there.
“It has a great mix of large and small pharma and biotechs and is home to great academic institutions,” Lindstrom told us.
Additionally, many Sygnature staff members frequently visit the area and its recently-hired business development representative is based nearby. “More generally, it is a great location with a unique life sciences legacy,” added Lindstrom.
The office that will be used by various employees visiting the area, as well as for hosting meetings, Lindstrom explained, though no one will be permanently based at the location.
Hirst added, “We expect the high level of drug development activity in the US to continue to grow and with it an increasing demand for high-quality drug discovery services.”
Additionally, the company in August of this year also added a new facility at Alderley Park in Cheshire, UK. The expansion followed an increasing demand for outsourced preclinical research services, the company told us at the time.
The addition will double Sygnature’s drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) department over the next year as the company implements a recruitment program.
The new facility – co-located across from its current Nottingham and Alderley Park sites – was expected to be occupied and operational by October.