{"id":12761,"date":"2023-10-10T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plnt.nl\/?post_type=nieuwsberichten&p=12761"},"modified":"2023-10-04T12:19:11","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T10:19:11","slug":"plnt-startup-stories-seranovo","status":"publish","type":"nieuwsberichten","link":"https:\/\/plnt.nl\/en\/news\/plnt-startup-stories-seranovo\/","title":{"rendered":"PLNT StartUp Stories: SeraNovo is solving the problem of drug solubility"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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<\/strong><\/p>\n

What happens when a 23-year-old student starts a company? Well, for Niall from SeraNovo, it had the best possible outcome: his pharmaceutical company has grown into a prominent player within his field, leaving an incredible mark on the healthcare industry.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Seven years since beginning his entrepreneurial journey, SeraNovo continues to push the boundaries of innovation and research, all while being a well-established member of the Leiden Bioscience Park community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But how did the company get to this point? We spoke to Niall Hodgins, CEO and co-founder of <\/span>SeraNovo<\/span><\/a>, to find out.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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What does SeraNovo do?\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A pharmaceutical company, SeraNovo is the result of complex scientific research and, of course, innovation. If Niall had to sit his mum down and explain what his company does, here\u2019s what he would say:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe vast majority of medicines that are being developed don\u2019t get absorbed well by our bodies. We can have amazing cures to cancer, infectious diseases or neurodegenerative diseases \u2014 but if they don\u2019t get absorbed by the body, they\u2019re effectively useless.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where SeraNovo comes in: \u201cFor every one of these medications, SeraNovo creates a type of liquid for the drug to go into. That liquid goes into a capsule, and the capsule can be taken by humans. Then, the drug can get absorbed by the body.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In this way, SeraNovo has an enormous impact on the healthcare and pharma industries, as it enables drug therapies that otherwise wouldn\u2019t have been possible.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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How did SeraNovo get started?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u201cI\u2019ve told this story so many times \u2014 I\u2019ll just give you the party narrative,\u201d Niall laughs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like many Internationals in Leiden, Niall originally moved here to pursue his Master\u2019s degree. Before he even graduated, he had started a company \u2014 \u201cI just didn\u2019t really think about the fact that starting a company meant staying in one location.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During his studies, Niall and his co-founder, Ian, started addressing the problem of \u201csolving the insoluble\u201d by experimenting with different groups of liquids. \u201cThere was no plan at all; it was just about \u2018how do you solve this problem?\u2019,\u201d Niall says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s this admirable passion for science and dedication to solving problems that have kept the company going (and growing!) ever since.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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What role did PLNT play in SeraNovo\u2019s StartUp Story?\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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As one of PLNT\u2019s first members, SeraNovo was already around before PLNT even existed. In the beginning, the company was part of a network of student entrepreneurs called Lugus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, <\/span>PLNT<\/span><\/a> came into being. Because of its proximity to the Leiden Bioscience Park, where SeraNovo\u2019s laboratories were located, Niall decided to move his office to the PLNT building.<\/span><\/p>\n

Surrounded by like-minded people and inspired by other revolutionary companies, SeraNovo stayed at PLNT until 2019, when the company eventually moved to the Bioscience Park.<\/span><\/p>\n

This new location had many advantages, as Niall explains: \u201cHere, we have a source of qualified students, the infrastructure of laboratories, and other pharmaceutical companies around.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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How has SeraNovo grown over the years?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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When SeraNovo started, Ian and Niall were all about science and technology \u2014 \u201cwe were just working in the lab all day, every day.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As time went on, SeraNovo went from just being technologically focused to being \u201cmore of a proper organisation,\u201d Niall says. \u201cYou have to worry about things like finances, business, legal matters, and HR.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This also changed Niall on a personal level. \u201cFrom my side, there\u2019s very little that will cause my heart rate to go up now,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI just have this immense optimism for SeraNovo. I have a huge amount of optimism in the capabilities of the individuals working in this organisation, and in our capability of creating solutions to problems.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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What\u2019s in store for SeraNovo\u2019s future?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Speaking of optimism, Niall tells us that his philosophy states that \u201cevery problem can be solved with the right knowledge \u2014 unless it violates the laws of physics.\u201d To him, this means that success is <\/span>always<\/b> a possible outcome; \u201cit\u2019s just about finding the right way there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI view the future super optimistically,\u201d Niall says \u2014 both financially and in terms of real-world impact.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to SeraNovo\u2019s technologies, an enormous amount of medicines will be enabled in the future. Around 90% of all medications SeraNovo works on fall within the scope of cancer or CNS (central nervous system) diseases \u2014 meaning that they have an immense impact on healthcare worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

On top of this, SeraNovo is working hard to enable the oral administration of medications that currently require injections. \u201cBut a lot of that is still confidential,\u201d Niall says.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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So, let\u2019s get back to our opening question: What <\/span>does<\/span><\/i> happen when a 23-year-old student starts a company?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, SereNovo is proof that it can become a success story that makes an important real-world impact. As Niall said: \u201cit\u2019s just about finding the right way there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you think of Niall\u2019s inspiring story?<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"featured_media":12765,"template":"","class_list":["post-12761","nieuwsberichten","type-nieuwsberichten","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nPLNT StartUp Stories: SeraNovo is solving the problem of drug solubility - PLNT<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What happens when a 23-year-old student starts a company? 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