LDC Top 50 2025
Dr Paul Dickinson Dr Marcel de Matas MBE and Dr Paul Stott
Chief Scientist, Chief Business Officer and CEO
Seda
Drug makers across the globe turn to Dr Paul Dickinson’s Stockport-based specialist when developing new medicines. “We help them decide whether to put the drug into a tablet or an injection and work out the doses to set,” explains the clinical pharmacologist, who co-founded Seda Pharmaceutical Development Services (Seda) with Dr Marcel de Matas in 2015.
Dr Paul Stott joined as CEO in 2019 and last year, they invested £8 million into a cutting-edge new laboratory, which means Seda can provide drug manufacturing services too. “We are one of only a few companies creating high-value roles in applied science in the North of England.”
The three of us never stand still, we are never satisfied, we are always thinking about the next opportunity to create value for our clients and their patients.”
Q&A
What’s unique about what you have created?
Paul Dickinson: There are three leaders: myself, Marcel and Paul Stott, who joined four years in. In big pharma, our combination of skillsets does exist, but they rarely work together. We help everyone from small biotechs to major multinationals become more efficient with a higher probability for success.
What drives you?
Paul Dickinson: I grew up in West Yorkshire in the eighties, when the region was being de-industrialised and there was mass unemployment, so I knew I had to create my own future. Whenever I set myself an objective, I have to be the best I can be. When I decided to be a scientist, I had to be the best in my field. At Seda, that means I am continuously hungry. The three of us never stand still, we are never satisfied, we are always thinking about the next opportunity.
Marcel de Matas: Having grown up in a Lancashire mill town during the 70s and 80s, as the son of Caribbean immigrants of the Windrush generation, I have always been instilled with a sense of ambition and drive to succeed. With a sense of determination to create something better than currently exists and to see visible progress across all aspects of my life. Starting Seda with just two people in 2015 and seeing it grow rapidly over the last decade continues to fuel that drive for success. An aversion to standing still and the need to see constant change and improvement is what drives me most.
Why did you leave a secure job to join Seda?
Paul Stott: I had achieved everything I wanted to in Big Pharma, leading a large international group of drug development scientists and taking numerous new medicines through approval. I was keen to give myself a new challenge in the latter part of my career and see if I could apply my skills in a different arena with more autonomy and a more direct impact on the success of the business.
