Everyone needs pills or capsules from the pharmacy at some point, but most of us don’t realise that the active ingredients in these medications are very tricky to formulate.  When big pharma companies need help making their medical molecules stay in the exact configuration that works in the body, they often turn to Roslin-based Solid Form Solutions.

At just over two years old, Solid Form Solutions has grown quickly, continually building more business, hiring more staff, and adding more services.  The unique array of high-quality services the company provides, along with its rapid growth, has led to Sold Form Solutions being awarded the Nexxus Most Promising Young Life Science Company Award (East) in Edinburgh on 16 November.

When founders Stephen Watt, Julie Scott and Alan Beattie started out in June 2008, it was just the three of them, a small office at the Roslin BioCentre, and a company set up solely with personal funding.

The company has now tripled its laboratory space at the Roslin BioCentre, achieved more than £1 million in sales, gained ISO 9001:2008 certification, employs 14 staff, and is looking to hire more.  Solid Form Solutions has also established partnerships with more than 50 companies and has clients from around the world.

Solid Form Solutions specialises in pharmaceutical development focusing on four main areas: Salt Screening; Polymorph Screening; Crystallization Development and Co-Crystal Screening. These areas are important for the development of novel pharmaceuticals on the lead up to toxicological and clinical studies. The company’s growth in staff and space is coupled with its investment in its technology, as it continually puts resources back into the laboratory in the form of state-of-the-art equipment letting Solid Form Solutions’ scientists conduct a greater range of tests and services for their clients.

Quality Assurance Manager John MacKinlay accepted the Award on behalf of founders Stephen Watt and Julie Scott who, due to their scheduled attendance for Solid Form Solutions at an international trade conference, could not attend the Edinburgh event. “This award is a fantastic achievement for SFS. Having a hard working and committed dynamic team of experts in solid form science and business development has been key to our success,” said Technical Director Stephen Watt, about the award.

“SFS plan to build on this success in the future by further increasing our global presence and by introducing new innovative services to the marketplace. Nexxus will be a valuable resource in terms of advice and getting the SFS message out to our clients,” added Business Development Director Julie Scott.

“It’s the drive and resourcefulness of young, vibrant companies such as Solid Form Solutions that’s the lifeblood of the Scottish life science sector,” said Nexxus Director Graeme Boyle.  “They exemplify just what can be achieved with hard work and vision, from modest beginnings.  They are a credit to Scotland amongst drug development, biotechnology and pharma companies the world over.”

Runners up for the Nexxus 2010 Most Promising Young Life Science Company of the Year Award (East) were Deliverics and Young SET Ambassadors.