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ADME Tox is a collective science that studies how a potential drug or toxin is Absorbed into the body, Distributed through the body, Metabolised (changed by body enzymes into different molecular entities), by what routes it is Excreted, and whether it has a potential to cause Toxicity. Hence the acronym, ‘ADME Tox’ or ‘ADMET’.

For example, most drugs need to be delivered in pill form. Pills must be absorbed in the intestine in order to enter the blood stream. This is part of the Absorption part of ADME Tox. Cyprotex's proprietary in silico absorption model can predict whether a proposed drug will be absorbed in the human intestine. ‘In silico’, means a software model of how the body acts. Our in vitro permeability assays can determine whether a drug will be absorbed in the intestine. ‘In vitro’ means a test-tube model involving actual drugs and cells.

For more about ADME, please see our ADME Guide.

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Message from the CEO

Thank you for your interest in Cyprotex, the world’s largest contract research organization (CRO) specialising in ADME Tox.

Cyprotex was founded in 1999 by Dr. David Leahy. Dr. Leahy had two visions for the company. One of these visions was a reach for the stars:

To predict the ADME properties of any drug candidate molecule without having to put that molecule into a human or animal.

When Dr. Leahy had this vision, 40% of all drugs were failing in human clinical trials because of ADME failures. As human clinical trials are the most expensive step in bringing a new drug to market, this made ADME the single largest cause of inefficiency in drug development. Dr. Leahy’s dream was to totally eliminate this waste.

We are still far from reaching Dr. Leahy’s goal, but we have made great progress. Now only 7% of drugs fail in clinical trials due to ADME reasons. Sadly, the percentage of drugs failing in clinical trials remains at 80%, as other reasons for failure have grown.

Among these reasons for failure is toxicity. The science needed to address the toxicity problem is similar to, albeit more complex than the science used to address the ADME problem. Hence, the ADME field has grown to include toxicity and is now referred to as ‘ADME Tox’ or ‘ADMET’.

Dr. Leahy’s other vision was that Cyprotex would become the world’s largest contract research organisation specialising in ADMET. In August 2010 this dream was realised when Cyprotex acquired Apredica, a US-based ADME Tox provider with the industry’s most extensive portfolio of in vitro toxicology assays, including advanced, proprietary High Content Toxicology technology that Apredica had acquired from Cellumen to augment its existing High Content Toxicology service.

Combining these with Cyprotex’s strengths in ADME screening and in silico modelling allows Cyprotex to enjoy the following distinctions:

The most extensive portfolio of ADME Tox contract research services available anywhere.
The most highly automated platform for ADME screening on the market, allowing our customers to enjoy unparalleled turnaround times, data quality, and cost efficiency for routine ADME screening.
Capabilities to customise existing ADME Tox assays as well as adapt and develop new ones to meet our customers’ unique needs.
We are the sole provider of Cellciphr™ High Content Toxicology services
We are the only company in the world with in-house expertise in both in silico and in vitro ADME Tox.
We are one of only three ADME Tox providers with laboratories in both Europe and North America.
Over 500 companies have entrusted their ADME Tox research to us. None of our competitors report an ADME Tox client base this large.

Cyprotex are now focused on replicating our success in ADME screening and prediction to address the growing problem of toxicity.

Not only is toxicity the largest reason for clinical trial failures, accounting for 43% of all Phase I failures, but unlike other reasons for failure, the cost of drug toxicity problems extends far beyond the cost of the failed clinical trials. Drugs that cause injury or death for some patients are being approved because clinical trials can’t detect the subtle toxicity problems that are becoming ever more common with new drugs. Such drugs have to be either removed from the market, or given ‘black box’ warnings greatly limiting whom they may be prescribed to. The costs incurred by toxicity include litigation and injury claims, and lost investment in commercialisation. In total, these expenses make toxicity the most costly problem in drug discovery today.

Subsequent to acquiring Apredica, Cyprotex completed a 90 sq. metre addition to our Macclesfield laboratory for performing in vitro toxicology assays. For this laboratory, we acquired a state-of-the-art Thermo Scientific Cellomics Arrayscan VTI High Content Screening instrument, which complements the four High Content Screening instruments at Apredica for providing High Content Toxicology services, which are a key part of our assault on the toxicity problem. Commercially, we are making quick progress. As of November 2010, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and four major pharmaceutical companies have resumed using Cyprotex’s proprietary CellCiphr™ High Content Toxicology service following its successful cross-validation and transfer to our laboratories subsequent to our acquisition of the technology from Cellumen, Inc.

I have faith that Cyprotex will not only be as successful in addressing toxicity as it has been in addressing ADME, I also believe that we will eventually reach our ultimate objective:

The ability to predict the ADME Tox properties of any potential drug or toxin without having to put it into a human or animal.

Leading this effort is our Chief Scientific Officer, Katya Tsaioun, Ph.D., assisted by our Head of Product Development, Helen Gill, Ph.D. Dr. Tsaioun is a world-renowned ADME Tox expert, whose book, ADMET for Medicinal Chemists: A Practical Guide is now available for pre-order.

If you are a prospective customer, I encourage you to contact us to learn more about how Cyprotex can help you. Most of our customers are drug-discovery companies. We help these companies get to IND (Investigational New Drug status) faster, at lower cost, and with greater assurance. Our other customers are involved with chemicals such as cosmetics and agrochemicals. We help these companies determine the safety profiles of their compounds in the most rapid and cost-efficient manner.

If you are a prospective investor, Cyprotex has been traded on the London AIM since 2002, ticker symbol ‘CRX’. I encourage you to review our investor information in more detail, and consider adding Cyprotex to your portfolio.

If you are a prospective employee, Cyprotex offer an outstanding working environment for ADME Tox scientists. Because of our automated screening platform, much of the monotonous lab work scientists associate with jobs in contract research doesn’t exist here. Instead, our scientists focus on consulting with our clients on their ADME Tox issues, designing and performing customised experiments, and developing new assays. Further, because of our size and the large number of clients we work with, employment at Cyprotex is more stable than in the ramp-up then downsize cycles that are common in pharmaceutical companies these days. Please see our current job openings.

It is exciting to be here at Cyprotex, as we are privileged to be addressing some of today’s most important problems in drug discovery and consumer chemicals. I am honoured to have had this opportunity to tell you about what Cyprotex have achieved and look forward to achieving.

Anthony D. Baxter, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Cyprotex