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About Crystec

About Us

CrystecPharma is a crystal and particle engineering company applying proprietary modified supercritical fluid (SCF) technologies to improve the performance of medicines. Our technology enables drug molecules to be crystallised in new forms and novel particles to be manufactured in ways that greatly enhance their therapeutic performance. Crystec has an enabling platform which can be applied to small and large molecules, to optimise a range of medicine dosage forms (e.g. oral, inhaled, intranasal, subcutaneous, sublingual).

Crystec works with the global pharmaceutical and health care industry to solve drug particle formation, formulation and process challenges. We are also developing our own innovative therapies in important areas of unmet clinical need, including women’s health, urology and treating respiratory disease. Crystec’s proprietary ‘mSAS®’ (modified Supercritical Anti-Solvent) drug delivery technology is enabled by a highly efficient, stable and fully scalable manufacturing process and is approved by regulatory authorities. This award winning mSAS® platform creates unique opportunities to improve medicines in ways that can transform the quality of life for many patients.

The Crystec team is multi-disciplinary with extensive experience in pharmaceutical development. The team have pioneered the application of SCF to pharmaceuticals and consists of acknowledged leaders in relevant fields of science, drug delivery, engineering, scale-up, manufacturing and medicine, underpinned by senior-level pharmaceutical industry and licensing experience.

Meet Our Experts

Prof. Peter York

Chairman & Chief Scientist
Professor Peter York is Chairman and a co-founder of CrystecPharma and is also Chief Scientist with responsibility for guiding the overall science and innovation strategy of the company.
About Peter

Paul Thorning

Chief Executive Officer
Paul Thorning is a co-founder of CrystecPharma and is Chief Executive Officer with overall strategic management responsibility for the company.
About Paul

DR QUN SHAO

CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
Dr. Qun Shao is a co-founder of CrystecPharma and is Chief Operating Officer, with overall responsibility for co-ordinating UK-China operations, strategic partnerships …
About Qun

DR LYN DAINTREE

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Dr Lyn Daintree has extensive knowledge of formulation development using supercritical fluids gained working for a multi-national organization …
About Lyn

GEORGE TOWNEND

Director of Engineering
George Townend has been a leading figure in the development of Supercritical Fluid Technology since the early 1990’s. As a founder member and Chief …
About George

Bob McCulloch

FINANCE DIRECTOR
Bob McCulloch is a Chartered Accountant (CA) being a Gold Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) and holds a Practising …
About Bob

DR PETER O'DONOVAN

CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
Dr Peter O’Donovan is a Consultant Gynaecologist based in Bradford and is the former President of the European Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy.
About Peter

Partnerships & Collaborations

At CrystecPharma we pride ourselves on our relationships with our collaborators, partners and clients, without whom we would not be the company that we are today.

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Prof. Peter York

Chairman & Chief Scientist
Professor Peter York is Chairman and a co-founder of CrystecPharma and is also Chief Scientist with responsibility for guiding the overall science and innovation strategy of the company. He is an Emeritus Professor of Physical Pharmaceutics and a world leading expert in pharmaceutical materials science. He has published over 300 scientific articles, holds numerous patents, and has received several research awards. He was the founder of Bradford Particle Design Ltd, a spin-out venture from the University of Bradford, based on research and patents in particle formation by supercritical fluids, which was acquired for $200m by Inhale Therapeutics in 2001. He holds Fellowships of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. He sits on MHRA and EMEA drug review panels and is a former member of British Pharmacopoeia Commission. He is an Honorary Visiting Professor of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Science.

PAUL THORNING

CHAIRMAN & CHIEF SCIENTIST
Paul Thorning is a co-founder of CrystecPharma and is Chief Executive Officer with overall strategic management responsibility for the company. He has over 25 years’ experience in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in manufacturing, research, marketing, consultancy and senior executive roles. Paul was a former licensing director for AstraZeneca (member of Crestor acquisition team). Away from the pharmaceutical industry, Paul spent three years in Tanzania, Africa, where he was a programme director responsible for a team running hospitals, health programmes and community services for 140,000 Congolese refugees. Paul was subsequently appointed as Director of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation at the University of Bradford, where he was actively involved in innovation in pharmaceutical sciences including the establishment of 3 innovation-based companies. Paul is a Non-Executive Director of Medilink North, and was appointed as the UK’s Focal Point for Health and Innovation with China. Paul speaks English, French, Italian and Swahili and intermediate Mandarin, holds an MBA and professional membership of the Institute of Marketing, and is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

DR QUN SHAO

CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
Dr. Qun Shao is a co-founder of CrystecPharma and is Chief Operating Officer, with overall responsibility for co-ordinating UK-China operations, strategic partnerships, contract research programmes, quality and information systems. He also leads business development in the Asia-Pacific region. Qun is an engineer, with a PhD in data-mining for pharmaceutical processing. In his role as China Programme Manager for the Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation (IPI) at the University of Bradford, he has managed the establishment of strategic collaborations with a number of leading Chinese research institutions including the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM), Chinese Academy of Science, Chinese National Academy of Nanotechnology and Engineering, Tsinghua University and Nankai University. He has also led the establishment of industrial partnerships with 4 Chinese contract research organisations and the Cambridge based XiangCam TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Research Centre. He is a member of the Consortium for the Globalisation of Chinese Medicine. Prior to moving to the UK, Qun worked in a national research institute in China for 7 years. His research expertise relates to knowledge engineering and artificial intelligence as applied to pharmaceutical formulations and TCM modernisation. Qun is fluent in English, with Mandarin as his native language.

DR LYN DAINTREE

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Dr Lyn Daintree has extensive knowledge of formulation development using supercritical fluids gained working for a multi-national organization which developed SCF processing of API’s through to cGMP scale. Lyn has responsibility for scientific programme management for external client projects, proprietary molecules, compliance, new opportunity assessment and development of intellectual property. Lyn gained her doctorate from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Bradford whilst working for Bradford Particle Design. Lyn subsequently led a team developing new products for Nektar Therapeutics UK Ltd. Lyn has several publications including patents. Her SCF processing experience includes developing methods to control particle size and surface area, chiral separation, polymorph control and generation of stable composite systems. Lyn is an active member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and former RSC committee member of the Formulation Science and Technology Group.

GEORGE TOWNEND

DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING
George Townend has been a leading figure in the development of Supercritical Fluid Technology since the early 1990’s. As a founder member and Chief Engineer of Nektar Therapeutics UK Limited (formerly Bradford Particle Design), he worked closely with Crystec’s Chief Scientist, Professor Peter York, and others from the University of Bradford to develop the SEDS supercritical particle formation technology. He is a multi-disciplined engineer who has designed and built a wide range of supercritical fluid systems with specific applications in particle formation, polymorph screening, aseptic processing and taste masking. He has expertise in the design of supercritical fluid systems ranging from small ‘bench top’ R&D equipment, to fully validated cGMP manufacturing plants. He has co-authored numerous articles and IP submissions in the supercritical field.

BOB MCCULLOCH

FINANCE DIRECTOR
Bob McCulloch is a Chartered Accountant (CA) being a Gold Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) and holds a Practising Certificate; his previous roles include: Finance Director of Wendy Wools Group (including its New Zealand associate company); Finance Director of USA owned GTE Sylvania Ltd Group in the UK and additionally had a secondment as Cost Controller of the European Lighting Division factories. Bob’s previous roles include senior finance positions in construction, engineering, paper, media and the start-up of the Leyland National Bus plant. Bob has been a part-time Lecturer for ICAS Glasgow tutorial classes, Stow College of Engineering in Glasgow and Bradford College

DR PETER O'DONOVAN

CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
Dr Peter O’Donovan is a Consultant Gynaecologist based in Bradford and is the former President of the European Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy. He is also an honorary Professor in Medical Innovation at the University of Bradford. Peter was formerly an advisor to the MHRA Medical Devices directorate. Peter directs in-house product pipeline development activities at Crystec, and leads asset development activity in two areas of women’s health. He also co-ordinates Crystec’s network of key clinical opinion leaders.