Skip to content
Newcells Biotech
  • About
    • Company
    • People
    • Location and Facilities
  • Services
    • Renal Drug Transport
    • Nephrotoxicity
    • Retinal Organoids
  • New Developments
  • News
  • Webinars
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
Newcells Biotech

News, Blog & Events

Developing a 3D in vitro proximal tubule model for chronic toxicity studies
read

News, Blog & Events

Covid-19 Action Plan – 2021 Update
read

News, Blog & Events

Improved in vitro renal tubular drug transport modelling to meet regulatory and development cost challenges
read
BY Newcells Biotech
January 26, 2021
Blog

Developing a 3D in vitro proximal tubule model for chronic toxicity studies

The kidney proximal tubule is of key interest in drug discovery. This is due to its primary role in the excretion and reabsorption of xenobiotics, such as drugs and carcinogens. Current primary

Diagnosing unresolved Stargardt disease using retina-specific splicing isoforms obtained from retinal organoids
BY Newcells Biotech
October 27, 2020October 21, 2020
Blog

Diagnosing unresolved Stargardt disease using retina-specific splicing isoforms obtained from retinal organoids

At Newcells Biotech, we specialise in the large-scale production of retinal organoids for the purpose of in vitro toxicology efficacy studies and disease modelling. Our differentiation protocols generate organoids which are fully stratified with the presence of

COVID-19 Vaccine
BY Newcells Biotech
June 11, 2020June 12, 2020
Blog

An Overview of Vaccine Development & Sub-Types

Vaccination can be regarded as one of biomedicines biggest triumphs. Since Edward Jenner pioneered the smallpox vaccine in 1798, subsequent morbidity and mortality rates have declined for a multitude of diseases, such as Diphtheria, Whooping Cough and Measles.1 However, despite the success of these global vaccination

BY Newcells Biotech
May 5, 2020May 29, 2020
Blog

Biologics and the kidney – importance of transport and safety assessment

Biologics represent a new modality of drug molecules which is rapidly expanding in market share and in the number of biologics gaining regulatory approval each year.  Biologics are defined as a diverse

COVID-19
BY Newcells Biotech
April 22, 2020
Blog

The Human Cell Atlas – an aid to understanding COVID-19 and a valuable tool in the development of hiPSC models

The outbreak of the novel viral disease, COVID-19, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has led to worldwide health and economic catastrophe.1 Almost 2 million cases and

BY Newcells Biotech
March 11, 2020May 29, 2020
Blog

Pulmonary toxicity – a challenge for drug and chemical development

Despite the common assumption that adverse drug reactions only affect the kidney and liver, more than 600 medications inducing lung toxicity have been reported.1 Lungs are susceptible to toxicity due to their large surface

BY Newcells Biotech
November 11, 2019November 11, 2019
Blog

Newcells hiPSC lung models; Valuable tools in understanding health impacts of air pollution

In 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that air pollution leads to 7 million deaths per year. This figure is more than the number of deaths from AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis

Child retinal dystrophy
BY Newcells Biotech
September 2, 2019
Blog

Vision for the Future of Childhood Retinal Dystrophies

The retina is the means through which most people primarily perceive the world and for children particularly, visual defects can affect educational, social and emotional development.1 The importance of retinal disease, in

retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE)
BY Newcells Biotech
July 24, 2019
Blog

Newcells Biotech Ltd. RPE Model to Improve Drug Retinal Toxicity Assessment

Retinal toxicity is an adverse side effect that can cause (usually irreversible) deterioration of a person’s vision, when taking certain medication. This has been seen for example in people taking Hydroxychloroquine for Malaria due to toxicity to the retinal cells.  The retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) is

BY Newcells Biotech
June 13, 2019
Blog

iPSC derived retinal organoids: A Promising Tool for Modelling Retinitis Pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of degenerative disorders of the retina, caused by mutations in one of more than 60 genes, including the genes for making rhodopsin, pre-mRNA processing factors and usherin. The genes

Antibacterial resistance
BY Newcells Biotech
May 22, 2019
Blog

Newcells Biotech technology: the fight against antibacterial resistance

Antibacterial resistance is an ever-increasing concern for today’s society. As more bacterial strains become resistant to greater numbers of antibiotics, we could see modern-day healthcare rewind back to the mid-1940’s, when antibiotics

BY Newcells Biotech
December 20, 2018
Blog

Looking Forward: A Year in Review

2018 has been a significant year for Newcells Biotech. We have secured substantial investment, launched new, ground-breaking products, attended global events and expanded our every growing team.   Here are some of our defining moments

Posts navigation

1 2 Next
  • About Newcells Biotech
  • Management Team
  • News
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of use

Newcells Biotech
The Biosphere
Drayman’s Way
Newcastle Helix
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE4 5BX
UK
T: +44 (0)191 580 6184
© Newcells Biotech Limited 2021
Newcells Biotech Limited is registered in England, company number: 09389592
Newcells Biotech, The Biosphere, Drayman’s Way, Newcastle Helix, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE4 5BX, v2

Log In
   
Forgot password? Click here to reset

Dr Mike Nicholds

Chief Executive Officer

Mike is Chief Executive Officer of Newcells Biotech and has an extensive commercial track record working in the biotechnology industry.
A microbiologist by training, he started his career working for ICI looking at a range of biotechnology approaches to making chemicals, polymers and food products. He worked for Zeneca (now AstraZeneca) in a range of commercial roles, leading business groups and providing contract manufacturing and development services to pharmaceutical and agrochemical companies around the world.
His experience includes senior executive and board level positions with Avecia and Chirex, including VP sales and marketing, and strategy & acquisitions director. He has been involved with several start-up companies in biotechnology over many years and has an in-depth expertise of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.

Prof Lyle Armstrong

Chief Scientific Officer

Professor Armstrong studied chemistry at the Universities of Sheffield and Northumbria and was awarded a PhD in physical organic chemistry in 1992.
As an outcome of his PhD research into the chemistry of fluorescent molecules, he founded a contract research organisation developing and licensing diagnostic systems to identify and enumerate bacteria in biological fluids. This organisation was successful in generating a range of products that were subsequently licensed to industry and marketed as microbial diagnostic tools.
Prof Armstrong’s highly respected research group is focussed on reprogramming cells to hiPSCs and developing organoid and other complex models of human tissues. A key aspect of this investigation is researching the possible reversal of ageing during the reprogramming process and how this might be valuable for repairing organ damage or treating human diseases using iPSCs.

Dr Colin Brown

Director of Admet Technology

Dr Colin Brown is a leading expert in kidney transport, with research interests in renal, hepatic and GI drug transporters.
He has developed and commercialised (through Newcells Biotech Ltd) a primary cell based assay for measuring kidney transport and toxicity.
The assay has been used in a range of study protocols globally with pharma and other industries to investigate drug transport, drug-drug interaction and nephrotoxicity.

Dr Sandy Primrose

Non-Executive Director

Alongside his non-executive director (NXD) role at Newcells Biotech , Sandy Primrose is also NXD at Arquer Diagnostics and is actively engaged with a number of early stage companies.
Sandy is the senior partner at Business and Technology Management, a biotechnology and healthcare consultancy practice. Previously, Sandy was an academic at Warwick University and then held posts as Senior Director of Drug Development at Searle Research and Development and then managed the Life Science business of Amersham International (now part of GE).

After that he held senior management positions in a number of early stage companies as well as serving on the board of the Microbiological Research Authority (a Special Health Authority) and then the Health Protection Agency.

Dr Frank Armstrong

Dr Armstrong has held Chief Executive roles with five biopharma companies (both public and private) including FulcrumPharma PLC (AIM) and CuraGen (NASDAQ). He led Medical Science and Innovation at Merck Serono and was previously Executive Vice President of Product Development at Bayer and Senior Vice President of Medical Research and Communications at Zeneca.
Dr Armstrong is currently the Chairman of Summit Therapeutics (AIM and NASDAQ), Faron Pharmaceuticals (AIM) and Caldan Therapeutics. He is a member of the Senior Advisory Board at HealthCare Royalty Partners and an SAB Member at Epidarex Capital. Dr Armstrong is a Member of the Court of the University of Edinburgh. Dr Armstrong is a physician and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh).

Tim Levett

Tim is the chairman for Chairman at NVM Private Equity LLP, responsible for investor relations and represents NVM on the board of several companies including Newcells Biotech. He is also a non-executive director of Northern Venture Trust PLC and Northern 3 VCT PLC.

He is twice winner of the prestigious BVCA Deal of the Year award. Prior to NVM, he spent several years in senior management with companies such as Shell UK and International Paints before becoming general manager of Tremco.

In Tim’s early career he was an officer in the Royal Navy.

X