o2h discovery, a preclinical Contract Research Organization which has integrated drug discovery capabilities operating from its state-of-the-art research facilities in Ahmedabad, India and Cambridge, UK, is pleased to announce the fifth edition of the o2h kickstarter competition exclusively aimed towards supporting early-stage biotech companies based in the United states.
US Biotech startups have always stayed at the forefront of innovation, revolutionising healthcare. Their journey involves cutting-edge research, leveraging AI and precision medicine, to develop transformative drugs. Their focus on rare diseases, gene therapies, and personalised medicine showcases a promising future where science and compassion converge, bringing life-changing treatments to those in need. o2h discovery will be thrilled to contribute to these drug discovery efforts through the o2h kickstarter competition 5.0.
o2h discovery understands that drug discovery research is a complex phenomenon. This can firstly require synthesis and screening of large numbers of molecules to identify a “hit”. This can be extremely time-consuming and costly. The o2h kickstarter competition has been developed to provide a boost to small molecule focused biotech companies who need to supercharge their chemistry efforts to meet their next funding milestone.
The applications will be evaluated by the kickstarter committee including Sunil Shah, Co-founder of o2h group, Andy Morley, CSO of o2h discovery, Gayathri Sadasivam, Head of Biology at o2h discovery, amongst others.The programme offers a dedicated team of six FTE chemists for each project, access to a large inventory of chemicals and reagents for synthesis in order to support small molecules research for a fraction of the costs. For more information and to apply, visit – https://o2h.com/the-o2h-kickstarter-competition-5-0/
Sunil Shah, Co-founder, o2h Discovery, said: “o2h has been collaborating with the biotech companies across the USA; our very first client was Amicus Therapeutics in 2003 and we continued to work with many successful biotech companies at an early stage such as Avila later acquired by Celgene and Karyopharm which went on to list on the NASDAQ. The aim of our Kickstarter campaign is to support the next wave of USA biotechnology companies to get off the ground”.
Tejas Upadhyay, VP, Business Development – USA, o2h Discovery, said: “We’re thrilled to introduce our fifth in the series of Kickstarter campaigns aimed at bolstering the growth of emerging biotechnology firms in the United States. Our previous Kickstarter initiatives have proven highly effective in propelling small molecule-focused biotech companies towards their objectives and driving innovation in the industry. We’re excited to expand this support to encompass early-stage biotech companies in the USA.”
One of the winners of the earlier editions, Beth J Hoffman, President & CEO, Origami Therapeutics said: “We’re thrilled to have been selected for the o2h Kickstarter program and to have the opportunity to work with the skilled chemists at o2h. The Kickstarter will enable us to thoroughly explore our nascent SAR and advance our lead program more rapidly.”
Editor Notes:
About o2h kickstarter competition:
Launched in August 2022, the o2h Kickstarter competition aims to empower early-stage biotech companies striving to amplify their chemistry initiatives and secure their next funding milestone. We understand that drug discovery research is a complex phenomenon which often involves synthesising and screening vast numbers of molecules to uncover promising ‘hits.’ We’ve launched four editions across diverse regions, including the UK, Australia, Israel, and Italy, garnering an overwhelming response with over 10 winners announced.
About o2h discovery:
Founded in 2005, o2h (o2h) discovery is a fully integrated Anglo-Indian CRO drug discovery partner and has capabilities to support programs from target validation to IND filing from our state-of-the-art research centre in Ahmedabad, India and The Mill SciTech Park, Cambridge, UK.
We have the in-house capability to execute hit-to-lead and lead optimization small-molecule drug discovery programs with expertise in medicinal chemistry (UK based), biology, pharmacology.
We recently added to our capabilities the expertise in the synthesis and purification of PROTAC molecules. We can now make available to companies active in the field the o2h PROTAC toolbox™ to rapidly test hypotheses with available off-the-shelf PROTAC building blocks.
We finally can provide phospholipid synthesis at a high degree of purity to support the production of novel lipid nanoparticles (LNPs).
The DNA of o2h discovery is centred around the nurturing of its people, values, and culture. It reflects in the way we work with each other, as well as our collaborators and partners.
For more information about o2h group, please visit www.o2h.com and to know more about our chemistry services, please see – https://o2h.com/discovery/chemistry/
Media Contact:
Preety Panday
Marketing & PR Manager
preety.pandey@o2h.com
