From Startup Lab to Biologics Pipeline: A Conversation with Nirmal Perera
The life sciences sector in the UK is home to a number of startup biotechs, small biologics companies, and cell and gene therapy developers pushing the boundaries of what is scientifically possible. Many of these organisations are working with tight resource constraints, ambitious timelines, and the need to establish robust, scalable assay workflows from the ground up.
We spoke with him about what startup and early-stage biotech companies really need from an assay partner, and how Promega supports some of the most complex workflows in biologics and cell therapy development.
Nirmal Perera
Pharma Biotech Key Account Manager, Promega UK
nirmal.perera@promega.com
Your background covers both clinical medicine and fundamental research. How does that shape your conversations with scientists in startup biotech and biologics companies?
My route into commercial life sciences was a little different from most. I trained in the clinical environment, before moving into academic research at UCL. I originally focused on Cell and Gene Therapy. Then I completed a PhD in Cancer Genetics, where I explored the role of YAP1 in regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition, which sits at the intersection of cancer biology, epigenetics, and cell behaviour. After that I spent several years in commercial roles working with cell and gene therapy products and cancer organoid platforms before joining Promega.What this combination gives me is an ability to sit in different chairs during a conversation. I understand what it means to be a scientist trying to make a decision under pressure, with limited resource and high stakes. I also understand the commercial realities that a startup or early-stage company is navigating: the funding cycles, the investor timelines, the need to generate credible data quickly. Those two perspectives together make for more useful conversations than just one alone.
What are the particular challenges that startup biotechs and small biologics companies face when setting up their assay workflows?
The resource constraint is the most immediate one. A well-established pharmaceutical company can afford to spend months validating a new assay platform. A startup often cannot. They need assays that work reliably from the outset, with good technical support and clear documentation, because every week of troubleshooting is a week of runway used.There is also the question of scalability. A startup might begin with a 96-well format for early compound screening, but they need to know that the assay will scale to 384-well or higher as their programme grows and throughput demands increase. Choosing an assay that locks you into a format that does not scale is a costly mistake to unpick later.
And then there is the data quality question, particularly for companies working towards regulatory conversations or partnering discussions with larger pharma organisations. The data they generate now needs to be defensible. Assay reproducibility, lot-to-lot consistency, and clear performance characterisation are not optional extras at that stage; they are fundamental.
Which Promega technologies come up most often in your conversations with biologics and cell and gene therapy companies?
There are several but the most common ones are easier-to-use alternatives to ELISAs; potency assays for cell and gene therapy as well easier ways to monitor proteins; especially those which have low abundance.
Potency assays for gene and cell therapy products are a significant and growing area. As cell and gene therapy developers move towards clinical-stage programmes, they need to demonstrate that their product works effectively.
Bioluminescent reporter-based potency assays offer a sensitive, reproducible, and scalable way to do that, and they are well suited to the kind of high-throughput formats that later-stage development requires.
The Nanoluciferase or NanoLuc® bioluminescent reporter technology (a reporter x150 brighter than Renilla luciferases) and it’s derivate HiBiT frequently comes up in this context. The HiBiT tag is only 11 Amino Acids and so it’s small tag size, the exceptional sensitivity, and the compatibility with intracellular applications make it particularly useful for cell and gene therapy workflows. It is especially useful for applications where you are looking at targeted cell killing in cell therapy or measuring proteins at low abundance in gene therapy workflows. It is also worth noting that the HiBiT tag can be utilized as part of various potency assays in gene therapy or gene delivery workflows.
Faster alternatives to ELISA are another common conversation. Many startup labs are running ELISAs by default because that is what they know, but ELISA-based workflows are time-consuming, technically demanding, and can introduce significant variability. Lumit™ immunoassays, are a 70-minute no-wash alternative to ELISAs. The increased speed and sensitivity of this assay allows researchers to get reliable results very quickly, freeing up their time to concentrate on other more challenging experiments.
You have experience of launching products commercially in the cell and gene therapy and immuno-oncology space. How does that inform the way you approach a conversation with a startup that is trying to establish a new workflow?
Having been on the product side, developing go-to-market strategies, thinking about how a new technology gets adopted in the market, means I understand the journey a product has to make before it becomes part of a routine lab workflow. That gives me a useful perspective when I am talking to a startup about adopting a new assay platform. I am not just describing the technical specifications; I am thinking about how it fits into their workflow, what the barriers to adoption might be, and what support they will need to get from first experiment to validated method.
Regarding new workflows in the immuno-oncology space, I have seen a lot of interest from startups for our Lumit Cytokine assays, especially for IFN-Y, TNF-alpha and IL-2. The Lumit Cytokine assay offers a faster and more sensitive alternative to ELISAs. It has no wash steps and can significantly speed up workflows.
What does good support look like for a small biotech or startup lab adopting a new assay for the first time?
Good support involves a consultative approach whenever a biotech adopts a new assay, regardless of supplier. They need confidence that the assay works effectively for their application. At Promega, just as important is the support we provide through our technical services team, there whenever it is needed for troubleshooting or more complex workflows.
What do you enjoy outside of work?
When I was younger, I was a keen sportsman. I used to play rugby, water polo and did Karate to national level. Unfortunately, not anymore, I prefer watching it on TV.
Want to Find Out More?
If you are a startup biotech, small biologics company, or cell and gene therapy developer looking for assay solutions that will support your programme from early discovery through to clinical-stage development, get in touch with Nirmal or explore our product range on the Promega UK website.Nirmal Perera
Pharma and Biotech Key Account Manager, London, Promega UK
07368 661858
nirmal.perera@promega.com
Wherever you are based across the UK and Ireland, our experienced team of Key Account Managers is on hand to support your commercial assay needs. Please contact us to be connected with the right person for your region.
More on the products mentioned by Nirmal can be found at:
Bioluminescent potency assays for Cell Therapy: T Cell Therapy
HiBiT technology: HiBiT Protein Tagging Technology
Lumit immunoassays: Lumit® Immunoassay Cellular Systems
Contact us at: promega.co.uk/support/ or find your local rep on our website