Arcinova, a UK-based Contract Research Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CRDMO) and part of Quotient Sciences, has appointed Dr Christian Dowdeswell as its new Managing Director.

Christian takes over from co-founder and former managing director Paul Ryan, who recently retired. His appointment comes during a period of renewed focus for Arcinova, which has recently updated its brand identity and is concentrating on providing integrated drug substance and early drug product services to pharmaceutical and biotech partners worldwide.

In recent years, Arcinova’s Alnwick facility has received £6.3 million in investment to develop a 1,500 square meter Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) manufacturing suite. The facility includes 14 GMP manufacturing streams supporting drug substance production ranging from small-scale process research and development batches to multi-kilo quantities, facilitating client needs from early development through to Proof of Concept.

The company has also enhanced its aseptic manufacturing capabilities to comply with the latest Annex 1 requirements, aiming to support complex and high-quality manufacturing.

Dr Dowdeswell brings over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors. Before joining Arcinova, he held consulting and advisory roles with firms such as Nanoform and Pangaea Life Sciences. His previous roles include Chief Business Officer Drug Substances at Siegfried AG and Vice President and Global Head of Commercial Development at Lonza’s small molecules custom manufacturing business.

Thierry Van Nieuwenhove, CEO of Quotient Sciences, said Dowdeswell’s experience in the global CDMO market will support Arcinova’s continued growth and service delivery as it works with customers to advance new medicine development.