Cyclofluidic is an emerging technology company founded by UCB and Pfizer and supported by the UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB) with the goal of improving the efficiency of drug discovery through the integration of chemistry and biology. 

Based in laboratories at BioPark, Welwyn Garden City our strategy is to develop an integrated microfluidic platform combining both chemical synthesis and biological assay to rapidly deliver high quality molecules and data to feed the drug development pipeline. We are assembling a highly experienced team of professionals combining both drug discovery and technology development experience making us uniquely placed to deliver on this opportunity.

The Cyclofluidic Approach

Small molecule drug discovery involves an iterative process of molecular design, chemical synthesis, biological assay and analysis to feed into the next iterative loop. In a typical project a range of assays are required to assess the potency and selectivity of the molecule at the target of interest, to assess the way the human body will deal with the molecule (e.g. metabolism and toxicity) and the physical properties of the molecule which will impact on the ease of formulation of an eventual therapeutic. This iterative process takes time, it may be many weeks after the first synthesis of a molecule before a full picture of the biological and physical properties can be built.

The emergence of flow synthetic chemistry as a discovery research tool over recent years offers potential advantages for a range of chemical transformations. In addition miniaturisation to the microfluidic scale offers further potential whilst still providing adequate material for bioassay. At Cyclofluidic we also believe there are opportunities for conducting biological assays in a microfluidic flow environment and are working both internally and with our partners to fully understand the potential this has to offer to small molecule discovery.

Having both chemical synthesis and bioassay available in a compatible flow environment allows the potential for a direct link from synthesis through to bioassay, removing the requirement for time consuming sample logistics processes between different laboratories. This simplification, coupled with the potential advantages of speed accessible with an integrated microfluidic approach will enable the delivery of key structure activity relationship data in a timescale of hours rather than weeks.

Computational methods for the selection of molecules for drug discovery are constantly evolving and methods are now available that can assist the medicinal chemist in proposing compounds for synthesis based upon both existing structure activity relationships and knowledge of the biological target. Whilst not a replacement for the medicinal chemist these software tools can significantly improve productivity and understanding.

Cyclofluidic is committed to integrating these key elements of flow synthesis and bioassay, software control and computational molecule design into an integrated platform. This platform will be capable of the very rapid generation of a wide range of chemical structures and corresponding biological activity data to support modern drug discovery programmes.