Redoxis, a contract research organisation with a focus on preclinical drug development and efficacy evaluation in autoimmune disease models, has its roots in academic research
Autoimmune disorders are on the rise, particularly in the developed world, and drug developers are creating new drugs to meet the expanding need. However, because autoimmune diseases are very different in humans and animals, drugs with potential in inflammatory and autoimmune disease need specialist research support.
From start-up to CRO
Redoxis started life in 2007 as a drug discovery company, focusing on the preclinical development of small molecule drugs targeting autoimmune disease.
“We developed animal models for in-house research, but found we were receiving many requests from other companies working in related areas for animal models and research support. We created a contract research arm in 2010, and we used the income to fund our R&D activity,” says Malin Hultqvist Hopkins, CEO, Redoxis. “Companies use us as a resource, and choose us because we work in a very specialist niche, and are highly focused on inflammation and autoimmune disease. We take a real interest in each project and engage in its development as if it was our own. This is what makes us different.
After spinning out the drug development arm into the company ProNoxis, which is developing a pipeline of early-stage small molecule drugs targeting activation of the NADPH oxidase complex (NOX2), Redoxis now concentrates solely on CRO services, including cell-based assays, in vitro and in vivo inflammation and autoimmune disease models, tissue collection and analysis.
“We focus on animal models in autoimmune disease, and pride ourselves on being the efficient and effective first step for companies developing drugs in this field,” says Malin Hultqvist Hopkins, CEO, Redoxis. “We tailor each model to our client’s requirements and focus on the relationship, rather than provide something that is just off-the-shelf.”
Building links and collaborating
Redoxis values its connections with the academic community, and collaborates through research programs, including EU-funded projects, as well as exchanges of ideas and people. These connections allow the company to keep up-to-date with cutting edge research and development in pathways and preclinical models. The company is also part of a number of EU-funded research projects
“We are a small company, with only five people, but our team brings together many years of knowledge and expertise in academic inflammation and autoimmune disease research and the development of preclinical inflammatory models,” says Hultqvist Hopkins. “Having background knowledge helps us to select the right model, and this could have potential to cut attrition in drug development.”
Hultqvist Hopkins, who has been CEO since May 2016, plans to grow Redoxis slowly, expanding to at least 10 people in the next three years.
