The Commercial and Scientific departments at BTL work closely together, under the supervision of their respective managers, to deliver the best service to their customer bases.
Laura brings to BTL considerable international business and sales experience, having held senior responsibilities at Project Navigator Ltd, Cancer Research UK, Test-Achats and SAFC Pharma. With an engineering background: PhD and engineering Dean listed 1st Master Eng. Hons in Biochemical Engineering from University College London, she built expertise in the fields of biologics process development and optimisation, and merged her technical knowhow with business start-up, management and development/sales.
Laura’s in-depth knowledge of the life science sector will be invaluable to her work at BTL as our new Head of Sales. She will be a primary point of contact for all consultancy and R&D work including formulation analysis, cycle development, contract freeze drying runs, process optimisation and scale-up.
Laura heads the team and can be your first point of contact for your queries and interest in our CRO’s service offerings.
Marc joined BTL in September 2008 after graduating from the University of Southampton with an MChem in Chemistry.
Marc is responsible for handling enquiries for BTL’s freeze drying instruments, the Lyostat3 freeze drying microscope and Lyotherm2 DTA & Impedance. He is also point of contact for scheduling training and installation.
Rachna joined BTL in 2011. After completing MScs in Biotechnology and Management International Business (Marketing), Rachna worked in scientific sales for three years gaining comprehensive experience in sales.
Rachna’s responsibilities include lead qualification and business development activities. Rachna will be a primary point of contact for customers and enquirers.
Kevin joined BTL in March 2000, and as the Director of Research and Development, he leads the collaborative research activity and oversees the delivery of client research projects.
He graduated in Applied Chemistry and has been in freeze-drying since 1993 when he undertook a Ph.D. studying the freeze-drying of pharmaceutical formulations and drug/vaccine delivery systems. Kevin then worked at Pfizer Central Research in Sandwich, UK, and as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in vaccine development at Aston University before joining BTL. Since that time, he has had direct involvement in the freeze-drying R&D of a diverse range of over 700 materials, from small molecules to proteins, antibodies, liposomes, particulates, gels, slurries, nanoparticles, bacteria and vaccines. His expertise is greatly valued by BTL’s clients. Since 2007, Kevin has chaired the PHSS Freeze-Drying Special Interest Group, an international working group that produces monographs on practical aspects of freeze-drying technology.
Isobel joined BTL in January 2007 having worked as an Analytical Chemist in pharmaceutical method development & cleaning validation and environmental marine research. Isobel has a BSc in Environmental Chemistry and is responsible for BTL’s internal and joint research projects in freeze drying technology. These projects involve cycle development, formulation development and product development. Isobel has experience in a wide range of materials including mammalian material, collagen scaffolds, diagnostics, probiotics and pharmaceutical formulations. Isobel presents BTL’s new developments at many industry conferences and became the fourth recipient of the Joint Pharmaceutical Analysis Group’s (JPAG) Conference Analytical Science Award at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in 2009.
Tom has specialised in the field of lyophilization since 2006 and has an MSc in Pharmaceutical Analysis. Tom takes a leading role today in managing BTL’s commercial projects, characterising products suitable for freeze-drying, looking at key factors and designing robust and efficient cycles. In addition to R&D Tom is responsible for running BTL training courses at our site in Winchester and at various locations worldwide. He has also travelled widely commissioning freeze-drying microscopes, one of the vital instruments used in current development work.
Mervyn Middleton joined Biopharma Technology Ltd in December 2009, having graduated with a BSc Biochemistry from the University of Portsmouth. Mervyn’s primary role at Biopharma is in the laboratory, conducting a number of analytical lyophilisation techniques, contributing to both the commercial and R&D interests of the company.
In addition to his diligence in the lab, Mervyn is also working towards an MPhil in “Kinetics of DNA triple helix formation” at the University of Portsmouth.
Nick joined BTL in 2011 after working for several years in environmental chemical analysis. He has an MChem in chemistry from the University of Bath, where he studied a wide range of chemistry disciplines and conducted two research projects in physical chemistry. He has significant experience of laboratory work and quality control in a highly regulated environment.
Nick will be providing formulation development and consultancy services for lyophilised products, including lyophilisation cycle development and optimisation.