A NORTH-EAST pharmaceutical firm is gearing up for growth after kick starting the year with a new hire.

Personalised medicine firm Fagron, based in Newcastle, has strengthened its UK team with a Shannon Douglas, a County Durham woman who previously interned for AstraZeneca.

Personalised medicine, or pharmaceutical compounding, is the design, development and production of customised pharmaceutical products, for example with an alternative dosage strength.

The Consett 24-year-old will be joining Fagron UK's team of nine in Ouseburn, where it has been since 2002, where she will work to drive the promotion of several new and existing product lines.

Miss Douglas said: “I’ve always had a strong passion for personalised medicine and holistic therapies. Many of my family members either work in the medical profession or require personalised medication themselves, so this new role at Fagron really allows me to marry together two aspects of my career that I love.

"I’m thrilled to be part of the Fagron team and I’m looking forward to what will no doubt be an exciting year ahead.”

The Northern Echo: Shannon Douglas is joining Fagron

As well as the continued production of its products like a supplement to help protect the immune system and a genetic test that analyses gene variations and lifestyle factors contributing to hair loss, the firm donated face masks last year to support care workers.

Dan Barton, marketing communication manager at the firm said: “We’re incredibly happy to have Shannon join the team. We can’t wait to see what she brings to the table and we’re looking forward to working together on some exciting new projects.

"Like many businesses operating in the pandemic, we’ve had to adapt and change the way we work.

"Luckily, due to the nature of our core business, we still saw a demand for raw pharmaceutical materials used by the NHS and its supply chain.

"We also saw demand increase considerably for products we supply to online personalised medicine providers across skin and hair, markets that have grown exponentially during the pandemic."