Meet the team

Celebrating 5 years at Biofortuna

Paul Williams

Head of Sales

Paul joined Biofortuna in October 2018, with a remit to help develop and deliver a commercial strategy, and work with the rest of the leadership team to transform us into a customer focussed CDMO offering assay development expertise and large-scale, flexible contract manufacturing services.

Celebrating 5 years at Biofortuna

Paul Williams

Paul joined Biofortuna in October 2018, with a remit to develop a commercial strategy and work with the rest of the leadership team to transform us into a customer focussed CDMO offering  assay development expertise and large-scale, flexible contract manufacturing services.

This month is your five-year anniversary at Biofortuna, what have been the biggest changes you have noticed in terms of what drives customer demand?

More and more customers are seeing the value of outsourcing to CDMOs like Biofortuna and want the flexibility of milestone-based, rather than time and materials based contracts. This is because a milestone-based arrangement is focussed on outcomes, and if planned an manged correctly is often the best option to accelerate project delivery.

 

And how has Biofortuna changed in that time? 

Biofortuna has transitioned from a small product discovery company to a trusted outsourcing partner for genomics, custom development, and contract manufacture.  Back in 2018, the new management team established a robust business model, focused on contract services and expanding the services portfolio.  This newly created CDMO for diagnostics framework, enabled us to offer a rapid response to SARS-CoV-2 where we successfully manufactured more than 30 million tests and provide a significant platform for business growth.  In 2021, we completed the NorthGene™ acquisition expanding our Genomic Services into consumer health and also made a £3 million investment into our new 19,000ft2 purpose-built facility and Company Headquarters in Deeside, UK.

 

Why did you decide to work in the diagnostic sector?

I have always enjoyed working with people and felt a commercial career in science would enable me to work in a sector that would be interesting day-to-day and open doors for me long term.  I initially wanted to be a Pharma Sales Rep but didn’t have much luck securing 2nd stage interviews without a science degree.  I was then introduced to a growing UK-based biotech business where I spent an amazing five years learning and selling a range of immunodiagnostic reagents and contract services and this was the start of my career in Diagnostics.

What does a typical day look like for you? 

As the commercial lead for Biofortuna, I am responsible for the execution of our strategic plan and accountable for identifying, targeting, and closing new business opportunities and ownership of the sales budget.  Working closely with our CEO, Nick Ash, my role is to deliver high-growth results in a dynamic fast based contract manufacturing environment and steadily grow the business.  My typical day involves managing the commercial team, negotiating terms with existing customers, presenting our value proposition to new prospects, and attending events and exhibitions to raise our profile.

 

What do you like most about your job?

My job has lots of variety, since we support several clients across a wide range of applications and markets, I am constantly learning new things and embracing the science. Some of the projects I have onboarded are indirectly saving lives… from early cancer detection, infectious disease screening to food pathogen testing so this gives me a great sense of job satisfaction.

 

As you look forward to the next five years, what do think will present the biggest opportunities for the diagnostic sector?

Point-of-care testing and at-home tests are getting faster and can help with reducing the burden on healthcare systems around the world, and offer quicker diagnosis and treatment. Personalised medicine and genomics are helping provide support for rare diseases and it’s only a matter of time before there is another major breakthrough for cancer or neurogenerative disease.

 

And finally, what do you like to do away from work?

I enjoy spending time with my family, making music and supporting Cardiff City FC.

JOIN THE TEAM

We are a growing company committed to establishing ourselves as one of the world’s leading contract assay developers and manufacturers.

As a direct result of that growth, we are always on the lookout to expand our team with the brightest talent.

Click here to visit our careers page and view our latest opportunities.

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