MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY


Finding the properties that make successful drugs


UK-based discovery technology company Selcia operates two divisions, Selcia Discovery and Selcia Radiolabelling, which together support pharma and biotech drug discovery and development. Selcia Discovery medicinal chemists apply synthetic chemistry to solve problems in biology, pharmacology, and medicine with an approach that can be tailored to the specialist needs of academic institutions and small biotechs. Simon Saxby, Selcia’s CEO, describes the company’s expertise and business model, and explains how it sees the future for medicinal chemistry in the current drug discovery arena.


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ounded in 2005, Selcia Limited, formerly the UK subsidiary of US company Scynexis, is a worldwide provider of contract research services in integrated drug discovery, fragment screening, medicinal chemistry and GMP- certified 14C custom radiolabelling services, operating from facilities in Ongar, Essex, UK and Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA. The company operates as two divisions, Selcia Discovery and Selcia Radiolabelling. Selcia Discovery provides integrated drug discovery services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries; these services include medicinal, organic and analytical chemistry, molecular modelling, in vitro biological screening, fragment screening based on capillary electrophoresis (CEfrag™), in vitro ADME/PK evaluation and in vivo PK, the latter provided through a strategic partner. Selcia’s medicinal chemistry platform consists of drug screening assays, functional biochemical and pharmacological profiling assays, a fragment library for screening, chemical starting points for medicinal chemistry programmes and an extensive SAR knowledge base. Selcia Radiolabelling is well established in delivering pure radiolabelled compounds for preclinical and clinical ADME studies. The company’s radiochemistry team can trace its origins back to 1992 and the Aventis radiolabelling group that was established on what is now the Fyfield Research Park in Ongar. This team formed the core of the unit that was acquired by Scynexis in 2001.


Building a discovery chemistry CRO business


“Around 2005, it became apparent that Scynexis wanted to focus both the CRO


16 sp2 Inter-Active March/April 2012 Selcia operates 2,600 sq m of synthetic chemistry laboratory facilities at Ongar, UK.


function and internal development programmes at its HQ facility in North Carolina,” says Simon Saxby, Selcia’s CEO. “At that time, the team based in Ongar was, and remains, a world leader in custom 14C radiolabeling. There was a strong management belief that this market position could be used to grow a sustainable business in radiochemistry and build a discovery chemistry CRO business that could generate intellectual property with long-term value for the company and staff.


“Dr Hans Fliri, general manager at Scynexis Europe prior to 2005 and now chairman of Selcia, believed the team had the right mix of scientific expertise and business acumen to develop profitable businesses in both 14C custom radiolabelling and medicinal chemistry services. He approached Scynexis


Inc with an MBO proposal that was agreed in 2005 and which subsequently led to the incorporation of Selcia Ltd.


Led initially by Dr Fliri, the team had a strong background and ongoing interest in the development of natural compounds for both novel pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. This focus differentiated the company from most other CROs and pharma companies, many of which were diverting their internal development programmes away from natural compounds to focus on in-silico designed and pure synthesis derived compounds. With the aid of a grant from The East of England Development Agency (EEDA), Selcia also built up an experienced biology team that enabled the company to develop families of natural compounds in known areas of interest to pharmaceutical companies. “This compelling


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