Triclinic Labs was founded in 2009 by David E. Bugay, G. Patrick Stahly, Shawn C. Comella, and Scott L. Childs to build a focused contract research group for comprehensive solid-state analysis, analytical chemistry, data interpretation, and chemical intellectual-property support.
The founders had been scientific and operations leaders behind SSCI, a pioneering solid-state contract laboratory. After SSCI was acquired in 2006, they created Triclinic Labs around customer focus, scientific integrity, innovation, and the belief that clients need interpretation from experienced scientists rather than commodity data generation.
Triclinic began in 2009 with a small instrument base and limited laboratory space. The organization has since grown into more than 18,000 square feet of custom-built wet and dry laboratory, office, and conference space in Lafayette, Indiana.
The company was built to stay specialized: comprehensive solid-state analysis, novel analytical approaches, practical data interpretation, and support for the chemical intellectual property created by those services.
Triclinic is built as a specialized contract physical and analytical chemistry laboratory. The group is not structured as a high-throughput data factory; projects receive technical attention from scientists who understand the molecule, material, and decision point.
Clients communicate with scientists. Questions are routed quickly, technical context is preserved, and data are framed around the development, quality, IP, or manufacturing question the client needs to answer.
Triclinic's internal R&D has produced approaches for solid-form screening and selection, sensitive materials analysis, drug-product imaging and mapping, variable temperature and humidity XRPD, and deeper characterization of non-crystalline and nano-scale materials.
The operating model is collaborative: provide better data, faster; explain what the data mean; and help the client move the program forward.
Founding Member
Dr. Stahly has over 40 years of experience in the specialty and pharmaceutical chemical industries. His expertise includes process organic chemistry, crystallization, solids analysis, X-ray diffraction, pharmaceutical preformulation, and chiral chemistry. He is an inventor on 44 US patents and an author of 35 publications, including peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. Pat retired in 2022.
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Bugay, an AAPS Fellow, has more than 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical development and associated intellectual property. His expertise includes vibrational and NMR spectroscopy, thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, microscopy, chemometrics, and scientific aspects of patent litigation. He has served as an invited speaker, course instructor, author, book contributor, and USP General Chapters Expert Committee member.
Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Park is a recognized industry expert in API solid form screening and selection, solid-state characterization of APIs, intermediates, and drug products, crystallization method development, patent prosecution support, and Paragraph IV litigation matters. She previously established and grew a US-based analytical laboratory and was instrumental in the scientific growth of SSCI.
Sr. Director, Analytical Method Development
Dr. Gilkison received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Purdue University, where his research focused on intramolecular relaxation dynamics in super-excited states of small molecules. Prior to joining Triclinic, he spent nine years at SSCI and served as a subject matter expert for vibrational spectroscopy, developing and validating GMP solid-state analytical methods for pharmaceutical materials.
Research Fellow
Dr. Boerrigter received his Ph.D. in Computational Materials Science from Nijmegen University, where his research focused on crystal morphology prediction. At Triclinic, he leads materials modeling in organic and inorganic analysis and advanced method development, with experience in polymorph, salt, and cocrystal screening, computational solid-state characterization, phase transitions, and structure elucidation by single-crystal diffraction.
Director, NMR Services
Dr. Kwon received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from MIT, where his research involved the structure and dynamics of membrane proteins using solid-state NMR and biophysical techniques. At Triclinic, he contributes to compound identification, structure elucidation, solid-form characterization, concentration and potency determinations, and patent prosecution and litigation support using liquid- and solid-state NMR.
Group Leader
Dr. Setiawan received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Kentucky. He works in API preformulation, solid form screen and selection, solid-state and physicochemical characterization, crystallization process development, enabling formulation for poorly soluble compounds, and biorelevant dissolution method development for orally administered compounds.
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Comella has more than 25 years of experience starting, growing, selling, turning around, and managing life-science companies and ventures. He manages Triclinic Labs' financial, strategic, and business functions and previously held management and executive positions at Roche Diagnostics, SSCI, and Monarch LifeSciences.
