Scientist Snapshot | Chris Creighton, Senior Director of Chemistry Services

Senior Director of Chemistry Services, Chris Creighton, joined our North Carolina facility in August 2023 with a variety of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.

Can you briefly describe your background and education?

After completing my bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of California San Diego, I went on to complete a PhD in Organic Chemistry with Professor Murray Goodman. The focus of my work was the design and synthesis of peptide and peptidomimetics. Professor Goodman was a pure scientist. He saw his role as pushing the frontier of science to the next level. This approach yielded a culture of exploration and innovation that has shaped my career and my approach to chemistry.

After completing my PhD, I was recruited by Johnson and Johnson (J&J) in Spring House, Pennsylvania. This was a very fertile time for J&J, as four drugs were discovered at the Spring House site: topiramate, eluxodine, entravirine, and rilpivrine. After J&J I joined a startup called Trius Therapeutics, followed by Hamari Chemicals and now Sterling.

Can you tell us what your role as Senior Director of Chemistry Services involves?

My role is to make sure that the team is delivering on time and within specification for our customer’s. I focus on identifying critical challenges which may arise during projects and address them before they become an issue. This proactive approach we take at Sterling ensures that our customer’s projects run smoothly.

Another aspect of my role is building a strong internal team, where everyone knows what an important role they play not only at the site, but also within our wider network. Communication is vital to ensure everyone knows what’s going on with projects, so we work effectively together for the benefit of our customers.

I also work on identification of key technologies that will add value to the Sterling network. For example, our site recently deployed peptide and radiochemistry process development and manufacturing capabilities.

Can you tell us about the importance of internal collaboration in your role?

Internal collaboration not only at the North Carolina site, but across our global network is critical, especially when it comes to tech transfers. We need to be able to fully understand the capabilities and expertise of those at Sterling’s other sites to ensure a seamless transfer for our customers. For this reason, when a tech transfer is going to occur, we open communications early to get the ball rolling as soon as we can.

The North Carolina site has worked with all the other Sterling facilities at one point or another and during these tech transfer processes we have often sent our scientists across to the sites to support and ensure everything is correct from our side for the transfer. This is also a really great experience for our people to get to know more of their colleagues and see how other sites operate.

Why do you think our customers choose to work with Sterling?

Our team is very dedicated and we focus on great customer service which is underpinned by Sterling’s core values of being transparent, willing, reliable and caring. I think customers really appreciate how we live these values throughout our interactions with them.

What is your experience working with peptides at our North Carolina facility?

At the North Carolina facility, we have carried out process research and development on peptides, both analytical and chemical syntheses, as well as solid phase, liquid phase, tag assisted purification, radiolabelled and non-natural amino acids.

What are our capabilities in peptide development?

Sterling as a whole can provide services from discovery through to commercial manufacture.  At the North Carolina site we have the ability to screen basic parameters to establish a route for peptide development. We also have the experience to optimise the route up to half a kilo scale both in up-stream synthesis and down-stream purification. On the analytical side, we have full capability to analyse peptides and the release of non GMP peptide products.

We can tech transfer peptide manufacturing and analytical methods across to Sterling’s Cork facility. We work closely with the team there when doing so to ensure a seamless process for our customers.

 What do you think sets our North Carolina facility apart?

We have the ability to rapidly identify phase appropriate research and development to deliver our customer’s projects on time and on budget. Our people are our biggest asset, and they have decades of experience in delivering customer projects and ensuring success for the site.

What is your favourite thing about working at Sterling?

My favourite thing about the North Carolina facility, and Sterling in general, is the people. There’s a great blend of different types of experts across the sites, all with different strengths, knowledge and experience which allows us to overcome any challenges we may face.