We were thrilled that Marcel de Matas, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Seda Pharmaceutical Development Services, visited SGS to talk to students about the pharmaceutical industry.

Seda, based in Cheadle Royal Business Park, was recently honoured with the King’s Award for Enterprise 2024, making them Stockport’s sole recipient in 2024.

Marcel, who hails from Bury, has an impressive career history, including working for AstraZeneca and serving as an Honorary Research Fellow at Manchester University.

During his visit, he delivered a talk supported by slides, covering Seda’s inception and growth, his career path, and a high-level case study on Aspirin, tailored for Science A Level students. He also assigned a challenge for students, with prizes awarded by Seda for critical thinking.

Students were divided into teams of two to four and tasked with designing a paracetamol product for children. They created brief presentations outlining key considerations in their design process, including delivery method and packaging. Creativity was encouraged, with a focus on novel ideas backed by sound reasoning.

Mia Krywonos and Thomas Mo emerged as winners with their innovative presentation. They covered the basics of paracetamol and current market products, key considerations for a child-friendly paracetamol product, including effectiveness, safety, flavour, and convenience, and possible delivery methods, such as patches and inhalants.

Their winning product idea was a strawberry-flavoured dissolvable paper containing paracetamol, which could be torn to length based on the child’s age. It also featured a colour-changing chemical to indicate expiration or prolonged exposure to air.

We look forward to more enriching experiences and collaborations that benefit our students and the wider community.

Reflecting on his visit and the task, Marcel said: “I was delighted to engage with such bright and enthusiastic students. Their innovative ideas and critical thinking skills are truly impressive.

“At Seda, we believe in nurturing the next generation of scientists and innovators, and it’s inspiring to see the potential these young minds hold for the future of Life Sciences”.