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STORM Therapeutics: From Lead to Pre-Candidate Nomination in 18 Months
STORM Therapeutics: From Lead to Pre-Candidate Nomination in 18 Months
Case study
scientific solutions
Sygnature Discovery delivers world-class scientific expertise and flexible services across every discipline in drug discovery.
Our scientists work as an extension of your team, powered by AI, automation, and a shared commitment to your success. We are ready to partner with you, from targeted project support to fully integrated discovery programs.
Sygnature Discovery’s scientific solutions are standalone or integrated drug discovery services across seven disciplines – bioscience, protein science & structural biology, chemistry, computer-aided drug design, DMPK, form & formulation, & in vivo pharmacology – available for a single study or a full program.
7
0
%
of our scientists hold PhDs
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fully integrated drug discovery hubs in the UK and Canada, serving partners across the US and Europe
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novel pre-clinical and 35+ clinical compounds delivered since 2011
Supporting Your Research
At Sygnature Discovery, we support every stage of drug discovery, offering specialist services that adapt to your needs whether you’re solving a specific challenge or running a full discovery program.
Our highly skilled scientists work as an extension of your team, combining deep expertise in the core drug discovery disciplines with AI, machine learning, and automation to deliver faster, smarter results.
We offer standalone and integrated scientific solutions across bioscience, protein science & structural biology, medicinal chemistry, computer-aided drug design (CADD), drug metabolism & pharmacokinetics (DMPK), form & formulation, and in vivo pharmacology.
Whether you need focused support for a specific challenge, or specialist input to complement your internal capabilities, we tailor our approach to your goals. With Sygnature, you gain more than a service provider, you gain a trusted scientific partner committed to delivering meaningful results and advancing your high-quality candidates to clinic.
Our Scientific Solutions
We provide flexible access to exceptional scientific talent, tailored to projects of any size or complexity. Our scientists are supported by advanced AI tools that streamline workflows and improve decision-making. Whether you’re solving a specific challenge or scaling up a program, we deliver agile, high-impact solutions that move your science forward.
Computer Aided Drug Design (CADD)
Our team of over 35 scientists draws on decades of experience to help you design smarter compounds and make faster decisions by combining AI-powered modeling, scientific expertise, and secure, collaborative data access. We solve complex challenges and accelerate your drug discovery journey.
Protein Science and Structural Biology
With over 65 protein scientists at Sygnature Discovery globally, we take pride in providing high quality, fully characterized proteins for a wide range of applications such as enzymatic assays, in vivo studies, diagnostic kits, biotherapeutics, crystallography, cryo-EM and more.
Bioscience
Our in-depth knowledge of target biology, therapeutic area expertise and experience of working collaboratively at each stage of the drug discovery pipeline, supported by a team of over 145 scientists, allows the efficient design and implementation of tailored high-quality assays, which help to accelerate your drug discovery programs.
Chemistry
From design to clinic, Sygnature Discovery’s global chemistry team, with the expertise of over 400 scientists, partners with you to deliver molecules that matter by overcoming complexity, optimizing molecular properties, and accelerating discovery. Our dedicated project leaders and chemists work alongside you, co-designing strategies and guiding decisions.
Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK)
At Sygnature Discovery, our integrated in vitro and in vivo DMPK platforms, supported by a team of over 55 scientists, provide mechanistic insight and predictive data that support rational design and informed decision-making, from hit identification through to candidate nomination.
Form and Formulation
From candidate selection to clinic, we partner with you to design smart, scalable formulations built on solid-state insight, multidisciplinary expertise, and a shared commitment to scientific success.
in vivo Pharmacology
Bridging the gap between scientific innovation and patient impact, we deliver high-quality, clinically relevant in vivo data that drives faster, smarter decisions through tailored study designs, advanced technologies, and close collaboration across disciplines. Backed by the expertise of over 55 scientists, we help improve project outcomes and maximize clinical relevance.
Our Approach
Drug discovery is evolving, and so are the challenges. As global health demands rise, the need for smarter, faster, and more connected science has never been greater. Yet too often, progress is slowed by disconnection between disciplines and data.
At Sygnature Discovery, our aim is to reshape how drug discovery is delivered. Through flexible services and integrated expertise, we enable innovation at every stage. With AI and automation embedded across our workflows, we help you move faster and make confident decisions, delivering results with confidence and integrity.
Whether we’re supporting a single study or a broader program, we combine deep scientific expertise with a pragmatic understanding of the wider drug discovery journey. Our value lies not only in the science we deliver, but in the insight we provide to help you make informed decisions and position your program for long-term success.
Why Choose Sygnature?
Choosing Sygnature Discovery means partnering with over 700 talented scientists from 50+ countries, all focused on your priorities. With no internal drug programs, our sole focus is your success, ensuring total confidentiality and dedicated expertise.
Our co-located teams across the UK and North America collaborate to deliver data-driven, transparent, and rigorous science powered by AI and grounded in integrity. With 60+ candidates advanced since 2011 and customers working with us for 10+years, we’re trusted by customers worldwide to deliver excellence, whether for a single study or a strategic program.
Case Studies
Trusted by customers worldwide
Our customers tell us that we act as an extension of their team and provide high quality expertise at every stage of the drug discovery process. Whether we’re supporting you through the entire process, or just a part of it, our goal isn’t simply to move you to the next stage it’s to lay the foundations for a successfully marketed drug.
Overcoming Complex Cytotoxic Chemistry: Discovery to Clinic in 14 Months
Avacta Therapeutics partnered with Sygnature Discovery to advance its FAP-activated peptide-drug conjugate program, with the goal of selectively delivering potent cytotoxic therapies to tumors while minimizing systemic toxicity.
From Lead to Pre-Candidate Nomination in 18 Months
Progressing from lead to pre candidate nomination in less than half the industry standard timeline, this program shows how connected scientific teams and real time insight can accelerate complex discovery.
Sitryx: Empowering New Ideas
Many intriguing drug discovery programs begin life at start-up biotech companies. Yet at the outset, these new organizations rarely have the resources or laboratory set-up immediately available to turn their ground-breaking ideas into a new medicine.
Rapid creation of ideas using generative AI (GenAI) with Iktos Makya
Leading generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) algorithms for de novo design are being used routinely within our medicinal chemistry programs to enable rapid idea generation to address project objectives.
Corcept Therapeutics: Integrated Drug Discovery Collaboration
Corcept Therapeutics, located in Menlo Park, CA, is a leader in the discovery and development of drugs that regulate the effects of cortisol.
CellCentric Lead Optimization Campaign – CCS1477
CellCentric are developing new treatments for cancer based on their understanding of epigenetics.
Fragment-based hit discovery for the epigenetic target, BRD3
Fragment-based drug discovery allows a wide section of chemical space to be interrogated with a relatively small but diverse library of small molecules.
Hit Identification to 3 Compounds in the Clinic and 6 Development Candidates
UK-based small molecule drug discovery company
Focus on identifying novel treatments of inflammatory respiratory diseases, such as COPD
FAQs
Integrated drug discovery brings together every discipline needed to progress a project from target to pre-clinical candidate, including bioscience, protein science & structural biology, chemistry, computer-aided drug design, DMPK, form & formulation, & in vivo pharmacology. At Sygnature Discovery, these capabilities work as one co-located team with shared goals, data, and decision-making. This removes the hand-offs, communication gaps, and delays that can arise when managing multiple vendors. This approach progresses programs more efficiently through the full design-make-test-analyze (DMTA) cycle, not only helping you achieve your next milestone, but helping position your project for downstream development success.
Co-located means our chemists, biologists, DMPK scientists, and pharmacologists work side by side in shared facilities rather than across separate organisations or locations. This enables real-time collaboration, faster decision-making, and quicker transfer of compounds and data between disciplines. By bringing the full DMTA cycle together under one roof, we can accelerate discovery timelines without compromising scientific rigour, helping teams identify and address challenges earlier.
Yes. Many customers initially engage Sygnature for a specific stage of discovery, such as target validation, hit identification, hit-to-lead, or lead optimisation, or for an individual capability through our Scientific Solutions offering. As project requirements evolve, the same scientific expertise can be expanded into a broader integrated program, providing continuity, preserving knowledge, and avoiding unnecessary hand-offs between providers.
Yes. We regularly support programs that begin with a validated target, an existing hit series, or a lead series. Our scientists assess the evidence available, identify any gaps, and develop a tailored strategy based on your program’s specific needs. This pragmatic approach allows us to build on the work already completed, helping teams overcome complex scientific challenges and progress with confidence rather than starting from the beginning.
Timelines vary depending on factors such as target complexity, available starting data, funding and program objectives. While some projects, like our collaboration with STORM Therapeutics, can progress from target to pre-clinical candidate in as little as 18 months, others may take considerably longer. Our focus is on generating the data and insights needed to make informed decisions at every stage, whether that means accelerating promising programs or recommending a change in direction when the science indicates a different path forward. We communicate openly and honestly and have the experience and ability to identify what’s likely to fail early. This commitment to objective scientific guidance helps ensure resources are focused on the strongest opportunities.
No. We do not develop proprietary drug discovery programs. As a result, our scientific teams, investment, and strategic focus are dedicated entirely to our customers’ success. There is no competition for resources or attention, and no concern that confidential information, intellectual property, or program objectives could overlap with our own commercial priorities. This enables us to provide impartial scientific guidance focused exclusively on achieving the best outcome for your program.
We take confidentiality and IP seriously throughout every program. Client data is managed using secure, access-controlled systems and file-sharing platforms, supported by ISO 27001-certified information security processes, continuous monitoring, and robust backup and recovery measures. All project IP is owned by our customers – we do not take royalties or milestones, nor any licensing fees for access to our expertise and technologies.
Since 2011 we have delivered over 60 novel pre-clinical candidates and more than 35 clinical compounds, and our scientists are named on over 250 patents. Case studies on this page include STORM Therapeutics (lead to pre-candidate nomination in 18 months) and a hit identification program that led to three compounds in the clinic and six development candidates.
Sygnature Discovery operates laboratories across the UK and Canada, providing customers with access to specialist scientific expertise and convenient collaboration across time zones. Our UK sites are located in Nottingham (Headquarters), Alderley Park, Tytherington and Glasgow, alongside Montreal and Lévis in Canada.