Meet the Scientist: Darina Hynes

Dr. Darina Hynes obtained her Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. She is currently a Business Development Manager facilitating access to high-quality drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) studies and drug-drug interaction (DDI) consulting services to clients in Europe, but that isn’t where she began her career with XenoTech. Darina joined SEKISUI Medical (XenoTech’s previous parent company) in 2008, starting as a research scientist before transitioning to XenoTech’s Business Development team.

Darina reflected on her journey: “SEKISUI is a household name in Japan for housing and plastics but has also expanded into the medical field and drug safety testing. In this article, I share my story with emphasis on the connection between Japan and Europe and insight into XenoTech’s international expansion.

In 2008, I was accepted into the Overseas Graduate Program run by the Irish government after my PhD studies to take up a placement as a research scientist at SEKISUI Medical Co. Ltd. The laboratory is located in the Ibaraki prefecture. My research included gene expression discovery of key drug metabolizing enzymes using microarray technology. We were always encouraged to present at national and international scientific meetings, which in addition to collaborating with Japanese scientists, I was granted opportunities to travel and form relationships in Japan. A highlight was an invited speaker opportunity at Nagasaki University from Professor Nakashima.

Since 2012, I have been working for XenoTech in Europe as the Business Development Manager for European customers. It has been exciting to be part of XenoTech’s growth and establishing market presence in Europe. XenoTech serves an international client base and, along with my team, we are responsible for helping clients in Europe achieve their drug development needs according to the regulatory agencies in Europe (EMA), USA (FDA) and Japan (PMDA). As a company, we are in the position of not only building a strong relationship between Japan and Europe, but as our laboratory is headquartered in the United States, I like to think we are a triangle or tripod of global harmony.

We are working hard to build on brand awareness and share our vision for a healthier tomorrow, with our mission to improve the health and welfare of society and future generations by supporting the development of life-enhancing therapies and values for our European customers and beyond.”

Contact Darina if you are located in Europe and would like her insights on meeting regulatory expectations and gathering reliable data on your drugs’ pharmacokinetic profile.