From time to time I have commented on the ‘bright ideas’ whose genesis came from UK universities and that eventually get commercialised in the outside world (see As a nation, we are not short of bright ideas).
Well, we have found another one! Simcyp, a spin-out from the University of Sheffield, has recently been acquired by US-based, privately held Certara Group for $32m. UK corporate finance firm Livingstone Partners advised Simcyp on the deal.
Simcyp was spun out in 2001 and develops specialist modelling and simulation platforms for predicting the fate of drugs in ‘virtual’ populations. Certara specialises in drug discovery software. All good stuff, but yet again what a shame that brilliant, innovative UK IP can’t seem to find the right home here in the UK.