• Comment: Inadequate sourcing (papers don't count), with only one interview. Does not seem to satisfy WP:ACADEMIC either. Clarityfiend (talk) 09:33, 31 July 2023 (UTC)

Suzanne R. Saffie-Siebert is a nanoparticle scientist and entrepreneur known for her pioneering work in silicon-based drug delivery and is the inventor of Bio-Courier technology..^[1][2][3] In 2008 she founded SiSaf Limited where she is currently Chief Executive Officer and Chairwomen.^[4]

Saffie-Siebert was born in Tehran, Iran. She studied BSc (Hon’s) Pharmaceutical Sciences at Greenwich University where she gained a 1st class honours degree. Her postgraduate studies in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Drug Delivery) at the University of London focused on high-yield incorporation of plasmid DNA into liposomes and were funded by ATTA/France.^[5][6] She later completed a business diploma for Bioscience at Oxford Brookes University with distinction, submitting a business plan for SiSaf.

During her studies, Saffie-Siebert worked at the pharmacy department at Moorfields Eye Hospital. In 1998, she was headhunted by Dompé Farmaceutici, Italy, to head up their new Centre for Drug Delivery Research.

After three years in Italy, Saffie-Siebert moved back to the UK as the Director of Research for pSiMedica Ltd, a spin-out of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (now QinetiQ), based in Malvern, Worcestershire. It was here where she built an in-depth understanding of the potential of porous silicon for drug delivery.^{[7][8][9][10]} Following the successful exit of psiMedica, Saffie-Siebert decided to start her own business focused on fully exploiting the potential of silicon in targeted drug delivery.

Saffie-Siebert started SiSaf Ltd in 2008 as a spin-in of Ulster University in Northern Ireland and began working with a small team at the Nanotechnology and Integrated Bioengineering Centre (NIBEC) at Ulster University to develop and patent Bio-Courier technology.^[11] In 2010 SiSaf won the Irish Times Award for Most Promising Technology at the Irish Technology Leadership Group's (ITLG) annual awards ceremony,^[12] at Stanford University, USA.

In 2016, SiSaf completed a Series A raise led by Vickers Venture Partners^[13][14] and moved to the Surrey Research Park in Guilford. In 2018, SiSaf formed a strategic partnership with Croda International Plc,^[15][16] a FTSE 100 speciality chemicals group, to expand the utility of Bio-Courier technology in personal care and life sciences. In the same year, SiSaf set up a U.S. based subsidiary and launched the Good Science Beauty^® brand which develops and markets skincare products utilizing Bio-Courier technology.^[17][18]

In 2019, on the back of pre-clinical data demonstrating that non-invasive ocular siRNA Bio Courier delivery induces effective gene silencing in corneal epithelium,^[19] SiSaf entered a partnership agreement with Avellino Labs USA to develop topical gene therapy solutions for the rare inherited condition Corneal Dystrophy.^[20]

In September 2020, SiSaf licensed 3 siRNA sequences for Osteopetrosis Type 2 (ADO2) from the University of L’Aquila to develop repeatable systemic gene therapies for this rare autosomal dominant condition.^[21] Following positive preclinical data,^[22] the company initiated the U.S. FDA regulatory process to obtain an Orphan Drug Designation for its ADO2 therapy in October 2022.^[23]

Saffie-Siebert has authored and co-authored over 50 publications and patents.

In 2010 she won the Irish Times Award for Most Promising Technology at the Irish Technology Leadership Group's (ITLG) annual awards ceremony,^[12] at Stanford University, USA. In 2011, Suzanne won the People's Choice Award at the Belfast Business Top 50 event^[24]

She was one of the mentors for Pitch@Palace, a networking platform founded by HRH Duke of York to amplify and accelerate the work of young entrepreneurs. In this role, she worked with biotech inventors and founders from across the globe to help them develop their ideas on how to improve people’s lives.