Leaders in Ion Channel Drug Discovery – Metrion Biosciences
Ion channel contract research organisation
Metrion Biosciences is a specialist ion channel contract research organisation (CRO) providing drug discovery services to pharmaceutical, biotech and academic customers across the globe.
We provide:
- Exceptional ion channel electrophysiology expertise and services
- High quality, cost-effective compound screening
- Detailed characterisation of lead compounds in a range of high-quality assays
- Confirmation of efficacy in stem cell and other phenotypic models
- Rapid reporting and data interpretation by an experienced ion channel team
- A dedicated, flexible service tailored to each customer’s requirements
Metrion Biosciences was founded as an ion channel specialist Contract Research Organisation in 2015 through a management buyout of Xention Limited’s research department, where the Team had pioneered the use of automated patch clamp electrophysiology in drug discovery. The Team had also developed substantial expertise in cardiac ion channels, which lead to the clinical development of potassium channel inhibitors as novel treatments for atrial fibrillation, in collaboration with Servier.
Since Metrion’s creation in 2015, the Team has continued to grow through recruitment of additional highly skilled ion channel and CRO experts with proven expertise across the pharmaceutical, contract research and academic sectors. They have together over 100 years of accumulated manual and automated patch clamp experience and are named inventors on over 30 composition of matter patents. The Team also has a proven track record of successful delivery of discovery, pre-clinical and clinical stage ion channel modulators.
Today, Metrion is a leading centre of excellence in ion channel biology and drug discovery and recently received a £2.7m new equity investment from Gresham House Ventures. This funding was used, in part, to facilitate Metrion’s relocation to a brand new state-of-the-art facility at Granta Park, to expand the cell biology capabilities and enable further expansion of the international Business Development Team.
Our team is able to offer flexible support at all stages of your drug discovery journey, including:
- Assay development
- Primary target screening
- High-throughput screening
- Hit confirmation
- Lead optimisation and SAR,
- Mechanistic and phenotypic studies
These stages of the drug discovery process are integral to successful lead candidate delivery and as a leading ion channel Contract Research Organisation, Metrion can offer guidance across all of the above key steps to selection of a lead candidate and beyond.
Metrion is delighted to serve clients across 20 countries and on five continents, ranging from large pharmaceutical companies to smaller, more specialist business looking to develop ion channel modulators as they progress towards a candidate nomination for clinical development. Metrion also works with academic laboratories, start ups and charities.
Metrion is active within the Cambridge cluster groups including One Nucleus[SR1] , Cambridge Network and the Bioindustry Association.
Our Services
Ion channel screening: high quality platforms
Ion channel drug discovery is reliant on sophisticated screening platforms. At Metrion we have invested in the latest electrophysiology platforms enabling us to deliver high quality recordings and data to our clients. The technology available to you includes:
- Qube 384-well
- FLIPR Penta
- QPatch-48 and QPatch-II
- Manual patch clamp systems
- Multi-Electrode Array and impedance
- Patchliner
- FlexStation
Following Metrion’s recent relocation to a brand-new 12,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility at Granta Park, Cambridge, the company has recently invested in high throughput screening capabilities (384-well format automated electrophysiology) and enhanced liquid handling.
The Contract Research Organisation’s cell biology team has expanded substantially, with several new hires being made and continues to recruit to allow further expansion across various divisions. Metrion’s headcount has increased by 50% over the past three years, reflecting the growth of the CRO side of the business and increased demand for ion channel screening projects globally. There is also a strong desire to grow the business within the North American Market and recruitment of Dr Rory Curtis as VP, US Commercial Operations represents the next phase in the Company’s expansion plans and business growth.
What our clients say about us
“Brilliant – both response time to my email and turnaround time for compounds!”
“Thanks as usual for the excellent data.”
“This data is excellent which gives me confidence for your assays. I look forward to working with you on more studies.”
“Really good data showing exactly what we would expect for a [target] inhibitor; we know how difficult these recordings are to perform.”
“We are very encouraged by the data and appreciate the detailed description of the analysis. These discussions are very useful to the team and highlight the complexities of these experiments in terms of execution and interpretation.”
“Many thanks for the data today. The graphs look great.”
Let’s work together
What are your specific ion channel screening requirements?
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss your project, we will put you directly in touch with a member of our scientific team. Contact us today to discover more.