At just over two years old, Solid Form Solutions has grown quickly, continually building more business, hiring more staff, and adding more services. The unique array of high-quality services the company provides, along with its rapid growth, have led to Solid Form Solutions being awarded the Nexxus Most Promising Young Life Science Company Award in Edinburgh on 16 November.

Founders Stephen Watt and Julie Scott started out in June 2008 with just a small lab at the Roslin BioCentre, and a company set up solely with personal funding. The company has now tripled its laboratory space, achieved more than £1m in sales, gained ISO 9001:2008 certification, employs 14 staff, and is looking to hire more. Solid Form has also established partnerships with more than 50 companies and has clients from around the world.

Solid Form Solutions specialises in pharmaceutical development focusing on four main areas: salt screening, polymorph screening, crystallization development and co-crystal screening. These areas are important for the development of novel pharmaceuticals on the lead up to toxicological and clinical studies. The company’s growth in staff and space is coupled with its investment in its technology, as it continually puts resources back into the laboratory in the form of state-of-the-art equipment, letting Solid Form’s scientists conduct a greater range of tests and services for their clients.

Quality assurance manager John MacKinlay accepted the award on behalf of founders Stephen Watt and Julie Scott, who, due to their scheduled attendance for Solid Form Solutions at an international trade conference, could not attend the Edinburgh event.

“It’s the drive and success of young, vibrant companies such as Solid Form Solutions that is the lifeblood of the Scottish science sector,” said Nexxus director Graeme Boyle. “They exemplify just what it takes to, from modest beginnings, become a local business on the global stage. The company, as well as its hard-working staff, is a credit to Scotland’s esteemed reputation amongst drug development, biotechnology and pharma companies the world over.”