Dr. Mark Saunders is a seasoned professional with demonstrated scientific and leadership skills in the pharmaceutical industry, having spent nearly 20 years working in and leading various contract research and development organisations.
After completing his degree in Biochemistry from The University of Exeter and his PhD from The London School of Pharmacy (now part of UCL), Mark was involved in the commercial set up of a spin-out CRO, providing outsourced support for physicochemical properties testing of NCEs. The company quickly grew and Mark oversaw the implementation of both the solid-form screening and formulation groups, including the Phase I / II clinical manufacturing for oral and inhaled drug products. After the business was acquired in 2007, Mark immediately went on to found Kuecept Ltd, an early-stage CRO specialising in designing bespoke preclinical and early-clinical formulations for drugs that exhibit complex bioavailability barriers (oral, parenteral and inhaled RoAs). Since establishing the business in 2007, the company's technical expertise was globally recognised by over 100 leading pharma and biotech organisations and in April 2016, Kuecept Ltd was acquired by Aptuit LLC. After 2 years supporting the integration of the group into the wider Aptuit business, Mark left to set up his own consulting service, P2C Pharma Ltd.
In addition to his commercial roles, Mark is also a member of the UK and US Controlled Release Societies, the UK Aerosol Society and Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists of Great Britain (APSGB), as well as serving as a member of the APS Materials Science Focus Committee. Mark has also been an author/collaborator on over 100 articles, book chapters and conference presentations and is also co-named on several patents on novel drug delivery technologies and particle engineering. In addition, Mark also co-edited 'The Essentials of Pharmaceutical Preformulation' book which was published by Wiley-Blackwell. in 2012.