Meet Dr. Adrian Waring

Adrian has planted deep roots in the CRO industry.

Adrian earned his BSc in biochemistry at the University of Wales. Here, he became interested in xenobiotic metabolism, which, simply put, is how biological systems deal with foreign compounds, such as drugs and pesticides, they encounter. Radiolabelled tracers are essential for this work to enable the biotransformation of the molecule to be followed. He still enjoys identifying novel metabolites.

Adrian’s Ph.D. studies centered on metabolism as a mechanism for herbicide selectivity and using cell cultures as a metabolic model for whole plants. His early career was spent in environmental fate, which involved conducting small-scale lab studies to investigate the fate and behavior of xenobiotics in soil, sediment, and water. This has been a substantial growth area in metabolism. When Adrian started in the industry in the mid-1980s, this work was predominantly performed on compounds deliberately introduced into the environment, such as pesticides. Today, environmental risk assessments are needed on various molecules that enter the environment, including pharmaceuticals, veterinary products, biocides, and industrial chemicals.

Now, with thirty years of industry experience under his belt—Lean Sigma Master Black Belt, that is—he is focused on the growth of all areas of the metabolism business and driving operational efficiency to ensure delivery of high-quality, cost-effective, and on-time studies for our partners.

As Director of Metabolism at Pharmaron, he leads the radiolabelled metabolism team to provide solutions in the areas of drug disposition, including non-clinical QWBA, MARG, and in vitro ADME, clinical drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics to support clinical studies and regulatory NDA submission using radiolabelled test articles. In addition, his team offers services in evaluating environmental fate for the chemical, crop protection, and human and animal healthcare industries.
Adrian notes that it’s an exciting time for the metabolism group.

“As we develop integrated services with other parts of the rapidly growing Pharmaron organization, we are adapting our service offerings to meet the needs of partners working with new therapies, such as oligonucleotides, ADCs, and other biologics. Science and technology in key areas of metabolism, such as drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and drug transporters, are advancing rapidly. Our services need to evolve to keep pace with regulatory thinking continually.”

About Dr. Adrian Waring
Adrian is the Director of Metabolism at Pharmaron (formerly Quotient Bioresearch) at the Rushden, UK facility. Before Pharmaron, he worked at Covance and Envigo. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of London. He is a certified Lean Sigma Master Black Belt. In his spare time, Adrian roots for Peterborough United, his hometown football team. He’s been a loyal fan since childhood and is hopeful that one day, Peterborough United (“The Posh”) will play in the Premier League.