Overview: Why choose Cambridge Research Biochemicals?
Our people
Cambridge Research Biochemicals (CRB) was bought by Emily Humphrys and Alison White in February 2000 in a management buy-out from the specialty chemical company, Avecia, formerly part of Zeneca and ICI. The two women had met 10 years earlier, in 1990, while working at what was then ICI. They remain the two sole owners and executive directors of CRB. The company has since taken on a non-executive Chairman and a number of specialist advisors to increase the management input and explore new growth opportunities.
Emily and Alison, both scientists, have made their careers in the commercial rather than the academic world. This means that, unusually for a modest-sized life science company, they bring with them the keen commercial drive and strong corporate values of quality, health and safety which are more typical of larger organisations. It also makes the company very flexible and open to ideas and partnerships.
They summarise their company as ‘a women-owned business that is driven by a commitment to high standards, outstanding customer service and operational excellence and that believes in a flexible approach to the work/life balance’.
Emily Humphrys, CRB Commercial Director
Emily is responsible for the business development and commercial management of CRB. She joined the Billingham site of the then ICI as a radio chemist but after four years moved into the company’s sales operations and has remained in sales and marketing ever since. From 1998, she was responsible for the European sales of Avecia Biologics (a division of Zeneca, part of the former ICI). In 2000, and following the management buy-out of CRB, she took charge of the company’s global sales, managing its operations in the UK and USA.
Emily, like Alison is from the north, from Middlesbrough, and has inherited some of her business zeal from her entrepreneur father. She is passionate about science, encouraging female business owners, the power of networking, and the North East. She is a member of the Entrepreneur’s Forum, the business networking Bridge Club, NEPIC (North East Process Industry Cluster) and CELs (Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences). A frequent guest speaker at events to promote bioscience businesses and their commercial opportunities, she is also a judge at the University of Durham’s Biology & Enterprise Degree show. Emily graduated from Manchester with a first degree in Chemistry in 1989.
Alison White, CRB Operations Director
Alison is the longest-standing member of Cambridge Research Biochemicals, joining the company straight from university, in 1985, as a peptide chemist. She met Emily when, shortly after CRB was acquired by ICI, she moved to Billingham as a radio chemist. Today, Alison manages all of the production and operation staff, the internal organisation and the smooth running of the ‘CRB ship’. She is passionate about standards, quality, cleanliness, accuracy and open communications between team members. She is also responsible for CRB’s Quality Management system and ensuring the company operates to the highest levels of Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) guidelines.
Alison graduated from Sheffield, her home town, with a first degree in Applied Science in 1985.
Dr. Steven Powell, CRB Non-Executive Chairman — Plethora Solutions
Steven is CEO of Plethora Solutions plc, a company which develops and markets products for the treatment of urological disorders. Prior to this he gained considerable experience as a venture capitalist as director of the Gilde Biotechnology and Nutrition Fund, a pan-European venture capital fund that invested in early-stage companies.
A biologist by training, Steven has 20 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector, in research and development as well as commercial and general management roles. Most recently, he was CEO of UK-quoted biopharmaceutical company, KS Biomedix plc, until its acquisition by Xenova Group plc. Earlier in his career, he worked for Beecham Pharmaceuticals (GSK), Whatman, Chiroscience, Celsis and Active Biotech. Steven has also helped to establish and finance a number of small life science businesses in a non-executive role. He took on CRB’s Non-Executive Chairman role in 2006.
Dr. Peter White, CRB Technical Director — Novabiochem, part of Merck Chemicals group
Peter has worked at the forefront of Fmoc solid phase peptide synthesis since gaining his PhD in 1985 at the University of Exeter. At LKB Biochrom he helped develop the first fully automated, continuous flow peptide synthesiser and later, at Merck, he has been instrumental in the development of the Novabiochem peptide and combinatorial reagent catalogue.
As Novabiochem’s R&D Manager, he has worked on some of the principle enabling technologies in the field of Fmoc chemistry. He has pioneered the use of derivatives for the production of long and complex peptides and is responsible for Novabiochem’s worldwide technical marketing and support which gives him a wealth of experience in solving synthetic problems.
Peter has written over 60 papers in solid phase peptide and organic synthesis, is a regular speaker at major conferences in the field and has co-edited the seminal guide, ‘Fmoc solid phase peptide synthesis - a practical approach’, which is used in laboratories worldwide. He became an advisor to CRB in 2007.
