Envigo invests in STAG

HUNTINGDON, U.K.—Envigo announced in fall 2016 the launch of a dedicated Science and Technology Advisory Group (STAG) to drive forward emerging areas of research and to collaborate with customers to develop new technologies. The STAG group will run across all service offerings of Envigo, including pharmaceutical development, research models and services, as well as crop protection and chemicals testing.

The key goal behind the new group is to advance Envigo’s commitment to developing the next generation of research services, technology and science. As such, the group will sponsor internal programs designed to develop new or improve existing capabilities. Selected external partnerships will also be explored—including collaborations with academia through postdoctoral sponsorship, placement and combined research—along with offering science and technology development services to customers.

Brian Burlinson, deputy chair of the STAG, commented: “We are encouraging our scientists to put forward new projects for funding, acting as an internal innovation incubator, but also, we are going out to market and asking our customers if they have research problems they would like us to develop into commercial solutions. However, it’s not just about today’s problems, as we are also partnering with universities, both on developing new science and offering work placements to graduates ... our ethos is to instill a culture of new science that permeates all areas of the business.”

Another central goal of STAG is to work closely with Envigo’s customers to develop new screening assays, utilizing the company’s advanced science and technology to meet ongoing R&D demands.

Beyond customer contracts, the group is also planning to independently develop new assays and technologies that Envigo can potentially sell to customers in the future.

The STAG will have a core membership of six to eight representatives for the first three years from a range of technical disciplines across the company. However, after this period the STAG committee membership will rotate on two-year cycles to ensure a regular impetus of new ideas and thinking.