Bend Bioscience announced the opening of an R&D and Innovation lab in Bend, Oregon. The 4,500 square-foot facility includes lab and office space as well as a work environment for almost 20 employees.

The facility is part of a larger planned footprint that includes process science and clinical manufacturing facilities planned to open later this year.

The Bend Bioscience team has recently doubled in size and is made up of accomplished leaders, scientists and technicians. The company plans to add more personnel in 2023.

With more than 200 years of combined experience and an average tenure of 15 years in the pharmaceutical and drug delivery industry, the team is well equipped to help their clients find new ways to formulate & develop the next generation of therapeutics, according to the company.

“There continues to be an unmet demand for solving tough drug delivery and bioavailability challenges, with targets and therapies becoming more and more customized,” said Michael Grass, Bend Bioscience’s head of drug delivery innovation. “With this lab and team, we have the attitude and aptitude to partner with our clients to address these needs and to innovate on new technologies.”

Dana Settell, co-founder of Bend Bioscience, said, “We see ourselves as an extension of our clients’ team and focus on developing a true partnership with our clients. We treat each customer’s molecule as if it were our own. Our approach and expertise allow our clients to focus on the important stuff, the therapies and patients.”

This lab supports client work in the following areas:

• Formulation feasibility, screening, and prototype manufacture including spray drying and solid dosage forms.
• Development and refinement of target product profiles to guide formulation development and optimization.
• In silico prediction of formulation performance, stability, and manufacturability.
• Analytical method development.
• Physical and chemical characterization and biorelevant dissolution and mechanistic performance testing.
• Real time, accelerated, and predictive physical and chemical stability studies.