UK-based Sygnature Discovery, a leading drug discovery contract research organisation, has opened a new office in San Francisco, California, to better serve customers on the US west coast. The new branch is located in the Oyster Point neighbourhood in South San Francisco, dubbed ‘the birthplace of biotechnology’, and home to one of the world’s largest biotech clusters, with more than 200 biotech companies and 11.5 million square feet of biotech space across 500 acres.
The company established its first US office in another innovation hub, the Kendall Square neighbourhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2019. The addition of a second US outpost will help meet growing demand from customers, which range from major pharmaceutical companies to small seed-funded biotechnology companies.
“Our very first client was actually from the US,” said Simon Hirst, the company’s chief executive officer, in a press release, “and it remains a very significant market for us, both now and in our future strategy. It is fantastic to have a base on the west coast, and in such a vibrant hub for the life sciences community.”
The office opening follows a year of impressive growth for Sygnature Discovery, which recently expanded operations at its headquarters in Nottingham in the UK, as well as opening a second co-located integrated drug discovery site in Alderley Park, Cheshire.
