Saffron Walden, UK, 12th September 2016 / Established in 2001, Domainex is a privately-owned, rapidly-growing drug research company with expertise in expression of disease target proteins, hit discovery, hit-to-lead identification and lead optimisation. It has an established reputation for its high-quality, innovative approach and has a sustained track record of delivering preclinical drug candidates. Domainex has a wide range of UK and international clients including biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and several leading academic groups.
To facilitate expansion across all aspects of its drug research service business, including the biology, analytical and medicinal chemistry departments, Domainex signed a long-term lease with Aviva Investors in October 2015 to provide it with the facilities and infrastructure required to support the company’s growth. Following a period of refurbishment, Domainex transitioned into its new facility, the Churchill Building, in August.
The existing 20,000 sq ft building has been refurbished to meet Domainex’s immediate and future requirements for chemistry and biology laboratory space. Works included the addition of a new laboratory access corridor, new windows throughout and a re-organisation of the internal layouts plus the addition of a new reception lobby. The external aesthetics of the building were also enhanced via the re-cladding of the roof. The building gives Domainex more than a two-fold increase in laboratory space, allowing the company to start to recruit the additional experienced and ambitious medicinal chemists, assay biologists, analytical chemists and protein scientists required to fuel its continued growth.
Trevor Perrior, Chief Scientific Officer of Domainex commented of the move: “The Domainex service business has been growing rapidly over several years, and it was obvious that we needed to find new premises that would allow scope for that expansion to continue, and also provide a first-class working environment for our team. Our new laboratories at Chesterford are exactly what we were looking for, and have given us the space we need to expand across all departments. We anticipate that the high-quality of our new building and the excellent on-site facilities will help us to attract the new staff we now want to recruit.”
Chesterford Research Park provides an innovative, flexible and future-proofed environment for both established and early-stage biotechnology and pharmaceutical research and development companies. Domainex joins successful organisations such as AstraZeneca, Illumina Inc and Charles River Laboratories, who have also chosen Chesterford as the base from which to advance their specific science. The low-density development, set within 250 acres of impressive parkland offers ultra-modern and energy-efficient laboratory and office space as well as central ‘hub’ facilities within The Nucleus building, which includes a restaurant, café bar, health and fitness centre, and meeting and conferencing space.
Accommodation options at Chesterford range from managed office space and individual R&D suites to bespoke build pre-lets, giving occupiers multiple options as their requirements change and grow. For further information regarding occupancy options please contact the joint agents for Chesterford Research Park – William Clarke at Savills (01223) 347294 or Michael Jones at Dodson Jones (01223) 358114.
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Sarah Brereton
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Notes to Editor
About Chesterford Research Park
Chesterford Research Park has proven an ideal environment for life science companies to grow and prosper. Leading bioscience names that have located at Chesterford include AstraZeneca, Charles River Laboratories, Diagnostics for the Real Word (DRW) and Isogenica. The Park is also home to a number of life science and start-up companies. The attractive 250-acre, low-density development is located close to Cambridge and the M11 with London just one hour away by train from nearby Audley End station, ensuring occupiers and visitors enjoy convenient and easy access. Stansted Airport is just 20 minutes drive away. Chesterford Research Park is being developed by The Churchmanor Estates Company Plc and is owned by Aviva Investors. To find out more, visit www.chesterfordresearchpark.com.
About Domainex
Domainex Ltd. is a Cambridge-based small-molecule therapeutics company that provides integrated drug research services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic partners globally. Services cover a wide span of the drug research value chain, from disease target validation to pre-clinical candidate nomination. Domainex's services include recombinant protein expression and use of its proprietary technology platform, Combinatorial Domain Hunting to identify soluble protein fragments for structural biology and assay development. Hit finding activities encompass assay development and screening utilising its Bioassay Builder and LeadBuilder platforms. The core of the service offering is undertaking multi-parameter medicinal chemistry optimisation of hits and leads under the mantra ‘every compound counts’, which can save up to 30% on the average industry time from target to candidate.
Additionally, Domainex is investing in developing its own therapeutic compounds for out-licensing in two specific areas: 1) Inhibitors of the kinases TBK1 & IKK epsilon to treat inflammatory conditions such as COPD and Lupus; 2) the emerging epigenetic target class of lysine methyltransferases implicated in oncology and other diseases, where to date Domainex has built a portfolio of assets encompassing novel chemical matter, proprietary assays and X-ray crystal structures.
For more information please visit www.domainex.co.uk