Pentraxin Therapeutics founder is awarded a knighthood

Published on 5 January 2012

UCLB 2011 Award winner, Professor Sir Mark Pepys was knighted for services to Biomedicine in this year’s New Years Honour 2012 list.

 

Professor Pepys is the founder of Pentraxin Therapeutics Ltd, a UCL spinout company which focuses on the treatment of amyloidosis and the Director of the Centre for Amyloidosis & Acute Phase Proteins Division of Medicine; UCL’s Royal Free Campus.

 

Professor Pepys was granted the 2011 UCLB Award for his determination and perseverance in pursuing the development of three novel small molecule targets, securing significant translational research grant funding and securing two licence transactions with GSK.

 

Earlier in 2011, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced they were signing up 10 academic ‘superstars’ for long term partnership to develop medicines more cost effectively. They chose Professor Pepys as their first academic ‘superstar’.

 

In May 2011, Pentraxin Therapeutics Ltd licensed a second drug development programme to GSK to develop Professor Pepys invention of novel small molecules that stabilise transthyretin (TTR), a blood protein which can cause a rare but fatal disease called amyloidosis.

 

About Pentraxin Therapeutics Ltd

Pentraxin Therapeutics Ltd is a company spun out from University College London (UCL) by UCL Business PLC (UCLB) to hold and develop the intellectual property of Professor Sir Mark Pepys and his colleagues in the UCL Centre for Amyloidosis and Acute Phase Proteins. The company designs new treatments for systemic amyloidosis and the amyloid-related diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and type II diabetes, as well as targeting the pathogenic effects of C-reactive protein in cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases.

For further information, please visit http://pentraxin.wordpress.com/

 

About UCLB

UCLB is a leading technology transfer company that supports and commercialises research and innovations arising from UCL, one of the UK’s top research-led universities.

UCLB has a successful track record and a strong reputation for identifying and protecting promising new technologies and innovations from UCL academics. It invests directly in development projects to maximise the potential of the research and manages the commercialisation process of technologies from the laboratory to market.

UCLB supports UCL’s Grand Challenges of increasing UCL’s positive impact on and contribution to Global Health, Sustainable Cities, Intercultural Interaction and Human Wellbeing.

For further information, please visit www.uclb.com

Links  

•  UCL Awards for Enterprise Ceremony
•  UCL Professor Mark Pepys hailed as an ‘academic superstar’ by GlaxoSmithKline
• Pentraxin announces licensing deal with GSK to develop medicine for rare disease
• Treatment for amyloidosis a step closer 

 

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