Editor’s note: Bio-Watch is a regular feature on Fridays.Qualyst, formerly ADMETech, says it expects to sign contracts with new major pharmaceutical companies in the next 30 days.

Scott Neuville, Qualyst president and chief executive officer, tells Local Tech Wire that the name change is only one of the things going on at the fledgling University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill spin-out company.

In addition to new contracts in the pipeline and a name change, Qualyst hired a former PPD and GlaxoSmithKline senior executive as a vice president, moved to new offices in the Triangle, and expects to close its first funding round in 90 days.

Neuville says the company’s former name, ADMETech, was a “place-holder name put on by UNC.”

“We wanted a name that described what we’re doing and no one else had,” Neuville says. “Qualyst is really a combination of two words, ‘quails,’ Latin for qualify, or advance to the next round of a selection process, and ‘catalyst,’ a change agent.”

Potential development costs savings

Formed at UNC in 1999 by Dr. Kim Brouwer, Dr. Gary Pollack, and Dr. Dhiren Thakker in collaboration with UNC’s office of technology development, Qualyst develops tests to screen and optimize potential drug molecules. Its technology is based on the founders’ research in absorption, metabolism, distribution, and excretion (ADME) processes.

The technology predicts what will happen to a proposed new drug in the human body much earlier in the drug development process and does it in a test tube. “It will help pharmaceutical companies change the way they select new drugs to develop or kill,” Neuville says.

Neuville says using Qualyst’s technology is both more effective and more efficient than current methods to optimize drugs for their ADME properties, ensuring greater success in clinical trials. “It could save millions of dollars in the development process,” he says.

Qualyst recently hired Dr. Kenneth Brouwer as vice president of research and development. Brouwer has 18 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently as executive director of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics at PPD Discovery USA. Pharmacokinetics refers to how a drug moves through the body via ADME processes.

Prior to PPD, “he was one of the first four people in the research group at Glaxo,” says Neuville.

Other hires are on the way. “We’re hiring additional scientists to do the additional work we expect,” Neuville adds.

Funding near?

The company hopes to close a first round in an undisclosed amount within 90 days, Neuville says. “It will be enough for us to go 18 to 24 months,” he says. Previously, the company has said it is looking for a round in the $5 million range.

The company has received grants of more than $700,000 from Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb.

Qualyst has moved into 1,750 square feet of new office and laboratory space at 7030 Kit Creek Road in Research Triangle Park and has options on additional lab space if needed, Neuville says.

Qualyis www.qualyst.com