ZERION appoints experienced CMC Director to join management team and drive the company’s drug development programs
(Copenhagen, November 12, 2020). Danish drug formulation company ZERION announces the appointment of Dr. Wei Tian as Director of CMC development. He will join ZERION’s management team from November 2020.
Wei Tian will take on a key role in driving ZERION’s drug development programs through formulation & process development, ensuring scale-up and process validation of the company’s proprietary Dispersome® technology. Specifically, Dr. Tian will be responsible for securing GMP manufacture of ZERION’s first Dispersome® drug product, foreseen to enter clinical studies in 2022.
Wei Tian joins ZERION with more than 20 years of experience working with pharmaceutical development at some of the leading players within drug delivery and formulation development, including Lonza, Catalent and Glide Pharma. He has been actively involved in the development and market approval of more than 15 pharmaceutical products, contributing in all stages of pharmaceutical development as well as business development and technical support. Dr. Tian joins ZERION from Lonza where he was Director of Formulation with responsibilities in formulation, process development and clinical trials material manufacture for oral drug products. Prior to that, he held positions as Head of Formulation Development at Norbrook Laboratories and Glide Pharma, both in the UK. He holds a PhD from University of Leeds and an engineering degree in food sciences from Shanghai Ocean University, China.
“With several drug programs in the pipeline, it is of utmost importance that we bring in a proven leader within pharmaceutical development to advance these programs until GMP production. I am proud that we have managed to attract such an experienced profile to join ZERION on its journey. Wei will take on a key role in ZERION’s R&D management and help build its R&D team over the coming years”, says Ole Wiborg, CEO of ZERION.
Poor drug solubility is a major problem for the pharma industry
Wei Tian will take on a key role in driving ZERION’s drug development programs through formulation & process development, ensuring scale-up and process validation of the company’s proprietary Dispersome® technology. Specifically, Dr. Tian will be responsible for securing GMP manufacture of ZERION’s first Dispersome® drug product, foreseen to enter clinical studies in 2022.
Wei Tian joins ZERION with more than 20 years of experience working with pharmaceutical development at some of the leading players within drug delivery and formulation development, including Lonza, Catalent and Glide Pharma. He has been actively involved in the development and market approval of more than 15 pharmaceutical products, contributing in all stages of pharmaceutical development as well as business development and technical support. Dr. Tian joins ZERION from Lonza where he was Director of Formulation with responsibilities in formulation, process development and clinical trials material manufacture for oral drug products. Prior to that, he held positions as Head of Formulation Development at Norbrook Laboratories and Glide Pharma, both in the UK. He holds a PhD from University of Leeds and an engineering degree in food sciences from Shanghai Ocean University, China.
“With several drug programs in the pipeline, it is of utmost importance that we bring in a proven leader within pharmaceutical development to advance these programs until GMP production. I am proud that we have managed to attract such an experienced profile to join ZERION on its journey. Wei will take on a key role in ZERION’s R&D management and help build its R&D team over the coming years”, says Ole Wiborg, CEO of ZERION.
Poor drug solubility is a major problem for the pharma industry
ZERION is a pharmaceutical development company specialised in improving the bioavailability of oral drug products by increasing their solubility. The company has pioneered the patented Dispersome® formulation technology that enables poorly soluble drugs to reach their true therapeutic potential. Poor drug solubility is one of the biggest challenges hampering the commercial development of novel small molecule drugs. Approximately 90% of all oral drugs in pharmaceutical pipelines do not sufficiently dissolve in the gastrointestinal tract and therefore cannot be absorbed into the circulation and exert their therapeutic effect. Many otherwise promising drug candidates are thus discontinued during early-stage development due to poor bioavailability.
The Dispersome® platform technology
The Dispersome® technology uses high quality whey protein isolate (WPI), an environmentally friendly by-product from cheese production, to disrupt the drug crystal structure. A unique amorphous composition is formed from the mixture of WPI and drug molecules resulting in improved drug solubility and bioavailability. The technology enables lowering of the drug dose, resulting in fewer and smaller tablets enhancing patient compliance as well as minimising any side effects. Dispersome® can be produced using standard pharmaceutical equipment.
In addition to its internal product portfolio, ZERION is also collaborating with established pharmaceutical companies to assist them in optimising the therapeutic performance of their drug compounds.
For more information, please visit www.zerion.eu or contact
Ole Wiborg, CEO at +45 40 96 80 18
In addition to its internal product portfolio, ZERION is also collaborating with established pharmaceutical companies to assist them in optimising the therapeutic performance of their drug compounds.
For more information, please visit www.zerion.eu or contact
Ole Wiborg, CEO at +45 40 96 80 18