Tissue Solutions, one of the UK’s leading providers of human biomaterials, has just received the prestigious Queen’s Award for International Trade.

From a two person start-up only seven years ago, the Glasgow­based company has had a meteoric rise by meeting worldwide demand for ethically sourced human biomaterials for preclinical research and development.

The company has prospered during the UK’s longest and deepest recession for more than 50 years.

It supplies and services 200 global clients, including all the major pharmaceutical companies. More than 60% of its export sales come from Europe and the US and it has clients as far afield as Japan and the Middle East.

During the last three years, it has seen overseas growth of 179% and has an 80% repeat order success rate. Founding directors, Dr Morag McFarlane and Dr Anne
Cooreman, set up the business in 2007 to offer clients a service they needed themselves as scientists and were unable to find.

It now employs 11 and is based at the West of Scotland Science Park in Glasgow having outgrown two sets of premises. Tissue Solutions acts as a virtual biobank sourcing and ensuring delivery of fresh, frozen and paraffin embedded fully consented samples from more than 20 countries across four continents for its clients.

Human biomaterials are used as the best model available in preclinical research and development for a wide range of applications, including discovering new therapies and predicting how drugs will behave in patients.

Dr Morag McFarlane, chief executive officer, said: "We are delighted to receive the Queen’s Award in recognition of our contribution to international trade.

"This highlights how essential human biomaterials are in advancing medical research and we are extremely proud to be part of this.

"We understand that the best research comes from the best samples. Our senior management are all PhD scientists with first-hand experience of working with tissue samples and can provide professional expertise and support in this area.

"We are committed to providing the very highest quality samples for our clients to help advancements in biomedical research."