Three companies that have markedly different businesses at Norwich Research Park are enjoying great success.
A pharmaceutical regulatory affairs consultancy, a commercialisation advisory business and a spiral freezer designer and supplier have all found that being based at Norwich Research Park has been beneficial to their businesses.
Agyra
Agyra has been set up to support global biopharmaceutical research and development, that includes some of the work being undertaken at the Park’s campus. Founded by Alex Yates. Agyra is a regulatory affairs consultancy that supports innovative biotech and pharmaceutical companies to deal effectively with regulatory affairs and also provides in-depth drug development strategy and industry mentoring.
Alex said, “The attraction of basing Agyra at Norwich Research Park is obvious because it is a growing centre of excellence in the biopharmaceutical sector in which my business specialises. There are just so many practitioners and researchers here that I can speak to and hopefully support. Both of these sectors promise much for the future of Norfolk’s and indeed the UK’s economies so it is very important that we create clear pathways for these types of products to get to market quickly and safely.
“Our role at Agyra is to help researchers, academics, new start-ups and scale-ups who have potential solutions to diseases, conditions and illnesses to navigate the regulatory requirements governing the introduction of new drugs and treatments. If we can do that successfully then Norwich Research Park will attract even more businesses.
“Since arriving here, I have been very impressed by the spirit of collaboration and the willingness from neighbouring businesses and Anglia Innovation Partnership to help me get started, introduced to important contacts and incorporated fully into the growing community of like-minded people. I am really looking forward to building Agyra here and being a part of something special that can have a positive impact on people’s health around the world.”
Integral Pharma Solutions
Integral Pharma Solutions is another example of the new ‘supply chain’ of businesses that is emerging across the campus. Integral Pharma Solutions is helping to make life-changing medicines more accessible to patients who need them most. By supporting pharmaceutical and biotech companies through the often complex journey from development to commercialisation, it plays a vital role in ensuring innovative treatments reach the people that they were designed to help, especially when cost, regulation or operational barriers might otherwise prevent access.
Founded by James McNeilly, Integral Pharma Solutions works with pharmaceutical and biotech companies across the globe, including several based on the Park’s campus. With over 20 years’ experience in the global pharmaceutical sector, James specialises in regulatory affairs, quality assurance and pharmacovigilance, helping businesses to navigate some of the most challenging parts of bringing medicines to market.
A key role for Integral Pharma Solutions is reducing the barriers to entry for innovators, particularly smaller businesses developing specialist or niche medicines. Without the right expertise and support, many promising treatments can be delayed, become commercially unviable or fail to reach patients altogether. Integral Pharma Solutions helps bridge that gap, making it possible for medicines, that may otherwise have been too expensive or complex to deliver, to reach the people whose health and quality of life depend on them.
The company manages the regulatory requirements needed for medicines to be approved in both UK and EU markets. By handling the complexities of compliance, submissions and ongoing oversight of quality and safety, it enables clients to stay focused on innovation, while ensuring patients can access safe, effective treatments as quickly as possible.
James said: “The heart of what we do is helping medicines reach patients who might otherwise never have had access to them. There are so many innovative treatments with huge potential, but without the right infrastructure and support, they can struggle to get to market.
“Being able to remove some of those barriers and help companies bring important medicines to patients is incredibly rewarding. It means we are not just supporting businesses, we are helping improve lives.
“I have been able to set up our office in Enterprise House on the Park’s campus on flexible terms and have really valued the learning and networking opportunities created here for the start-up community.
“We have made strong progress and are now working with clients across the world, with a healthy pipeline of new opportunities ahead. Norwich is a fantastic place to build and grow a business like this and, I believe, there is huge potential here to do even more in the pharmaceutical sector.”
Korutek
Korutek is a specialist engineering company that designs, builds and maintains advanced industrial freezing, chilling and cooling systems for some of the world’s largest food manufacturers.
The systems it creates are complex pieces of machinery that help customers preserve the quality of the food they produce, so that the quality is maintained especially when long distribution channels are involved.
For example, one of Korutek’s most important customers makes sausage rolls that need to be delivered to its network of retail outlets across the UK. As soon as the sausage rolls come off the production line, they enter one of Korutek’s spiral freezers that rapidly cools and then freezes them, locking-in their freshness and nutritional value during so that a top quality product is delivered to consumers wherever they are in the UK.
Individual quick freezing is the key to quality and efficiency in today’s food industry. When a product is frozen, it is actually the water particles in the product that freeze into crystals. Rapid freezing means these ice crystals remain very small. These tiny crystals do not affect the cellular structure of the product in the same way that large crystals (associated with older freezing systems or static blast freezers) do, thereby preserving the overall product quality in terms of shape, colour, smell and taste.
Under its current ownership, Korutek has been in business for 10 years and moved to its headquarters at Norwich Research Park at inception. Managing director, Rahim Ali, explained, “Due to continued customer demand, we are now building a new office and warehouse complex at the nearby Food Enterprise Park in Easton. Being a tenant at Norwich Research Park adds real kudos to our reputation and being able to use the prestigious address is super valuable to us.
“We really appreciate being part of a business community here that’s full of innovative and bright entrepreneurial minds to network with as well as the support that Anglia Innovation Partnership provides in terms of events, contacts and access to funders. We see there is massive potential here at Norwich Research Park for innovative businesses and want to be a part of its future.”
Roz Bird, CEO of Anglia Innovation Partnership, said, “These three companies demonstrate the diversity of businesses that benefit from being based at Norwich Research Park. Whilst they operate in different sectors, and are at different stages in their evolution, the common ingredients are that they are ambitious, offer specialist skills and services to their sector and are delivering innovative solutions in their markets. We are looking forward to supporting the three companies on their growth journeys.”
