Ubiquigent

Ubiquigent is a drug discovery and development company founded in 2009 and based in Dundee, Scotland, specializing in the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and deubiquitinase (DUB) enzymes. The company spun out of the University of Dundee's Scottish Institute for Cell Signalling (SCILLS), with an initial planned investment of approximately £3 million from US-based Stemgent Inc. The company's business model is a hybrid, acting as both a contract research organization (CRO) and developing its own internal pipeline of drug discovery programs. It generates revenue through strategic partnerships, collaborative discovery projects, and providing specialized research tools, reagents, chemistry, and screening platforms to pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and academic research institutions.

Ubiquigent provides drug discovery services and research tools focused on developing novel therapeutics for diseases with high unmet medical need, including in the fields of cancer, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular, metabolic, and infectious diseases. Its core offerings center on its expertise in DUBs, which are enzymes that play a critical role in protein degradation and stabilization. The company has developed proprietary platforms, including DUBprofiler™, for compound profiling and screening. Its portfolio includes DUB inhibitors and DUB-targeting Chimeras (DUBTACs). The firm has engaged in numerous collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies, including Bristol Myers Squibb and Astellas Pharma, to support their drug discovery efforts. In October 2024, Ubiquigent announced a strategic partnership with Alleo Labs to integrate artificial intelligence into its DUB-focused drug discovery.

The company was co-founded by Jason Brown, who served as its Managing Director and now sits on the board. Mark Treherne, a veteran of the pharmaceutical industry with over 25 years of experience, joined the board as a Non-Executive Director in 2013 and currently serves as Chairperson. The company is backed by investors including IP Group, Scottish Enterprise, the UK Medical Research Council, and the University of Dundee. It is headquartered at the Dundee Technopole, adjacent to the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit at the University of Dundee, providing access to extensive scientific expertise.

Keywords: deubiquitinase modulators, DUB inhibitors, drug discovery services, ubiquitin-proteasome system, protein degradation, therapeutic development, drug discovery platform, contract research organization, DUBTACs, PROTACs, oncology, neurodegeneration, cell signalling, compound profiling, strategic partnerships, biotechnology, pharmaceutical services, assay development, research tools, protein stabilization, molecular glues, life sciences.