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Who we are

Newcells Biotech builds in vitro models and services to de-risk and improve clinical translation and drug discovery

Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Founded in 2015 as a spin-out from Newcastle University

Worldwide collaborations with pharmas, biotechs & academic centres of excellence

State-of-the-art facilities in the heart of a science campus

Dr Mike Nicholds, CEO, talks about the drive behind the company and the mission to improve clinical translation

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Newcells Biotech provides clients with validated in vitro tools to understand how drugs interact with tissues. We enable the generation of robust and informative data to support critical decisions during any stage of drug-development.

What drives us

We believe that improving the in vitro models available to drug discovery and development scientists is a key method for increasing the efficiency of in-vitro to in-vivo translation and ultimately to delivering new therapies to patients.

By applying our expertise in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), primary tissues, a deep understanding of cellular physiology and organoid technology, we have built validated models and assays that have proven to be predictive of how drugs interact with tissues and organs.

View our in vitro tissue models for drug discovery

Founders

Dr Mike Nicholds

Dr Mike Nicholds

CEO and Co-founder

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Professor Lyle Armstrong

Prof Lyle Armstrong

Scientific Advisor and Co-founder

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Executive team

Emanuela Costigliola

Dr Emanuela Costigliola

Chief Marketing Officer

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Dr Colin Brown

Dr Colin Brown

Chief Scientific Officer

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Simon Berry

Finance Director

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Professional photograph of Dr. Valeria Chichagova smiling.

Dr Valeria Chichagova

Director of Technology

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Emile Shaffu

Global Sales Director

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Richard Strike

Operations Director

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Scientific leadership

Professional photograph of Dr. Megan Webster smiling.

Dr Megan Webster

Principal Scientist, Head of Lung Development

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Dr Carolina Gandara

Principal Scientist, Head of Retina Assay Development

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Non-executive board members

Dr Mark Carnegie-Brown

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Victoria Wiesener

Non-Executive Director

Terry Pizzie - team member

Terry Pizzie

Non-Executive Director

Our services and products help our clients get the data they need

Combining expert know-how and extensive capabilities, our services & products generate predictive human in vitro data. Our approach based on validated models, enables a deeper understanding of how new drugs interact with specific tissues and provide key mechanistic insights relating to safety and efficacy of new therapeutic compounds.

  • Characterised and tested to mimic the phenotype of the in vivo tissue
  • Validated assays conducted under quality control to give data confidence
  • In-depth expertise supports study design and execution
  • Human and animal cell versions enables cross-species comparison
  • Proven to provide predictive data on behaviour in vivo
  • Adapted to medium throughput high content screening
  • Proven in 100’s of customer studies on efficacy, safety and drug transport

Newcells Biotech’s models produce data you can rely on.

We are the leading provider of in vitro tissue models of the kidney, retina and lung.

Contact us
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Our Investors

Newcells is funded by the founders, venture and private equity investors

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