The business of enhancing lives

Advancements in medicine benefit us all. From the remedies that soothe a teething baby, the antihistamines that help counter the effects of hay fever to the strongest of drugs designed to combat cancer, there are very few of us who will get through life without some form of medical intervention.

Cold and flu remedies and drugs like paracetamol are so commonplace they can be picked up on the supermarket shelf.

But have you ever thought about how those packets of pills, potions and capsules arrived there in the first place?

The answer is complex and lies in one of the most fascinating industries – pharmaceuticals.

Business Matters this month takes a look behind the door of the laboratories of Courier Country where the most extraordinary work is being done to drive advancements in human – and animal – health.

Dundee University – with its worldrenowned life sciences division – is at the heart of the action and Michael Alexander has been exploring its role.

Its laboratories are teeming with talented researchers who spend their days looking at complex medical issues and devising ways to combat them.

Commercialising that core research has always been a difficult and laborious journey, but spin-out companies such as Cyclacel and Exscientia – which recently won a potential 250 million euro contract with Sanofi – are examples of what can be achieved.

Our cover story by regular contributor Ian Forsyth focuses on a new entrant to the local business scene, New Zealand-based Argenta.

The firm recently took over a longstanding animal health manufacturing unit in Dundee and, through Business Matters, has welcomed in the outside world for the first time as it mulls a potentially significant new research and development investment.

Elsewhere this month, we have updates on the commercial property sector in Angus and Fife and all the latest news and views from the local business scene.

Commercialising core research has always been a difficult and laborious journey, but spinout companies such as Cyclacel and Exscientia are examples of what can be achieved

Potentially life changing research is being carried out in laboratories across the world.