 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Biotechnology |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Defunct | 2004 |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | UCB |
| Headquarters | Slough, UK |
Key people | Goran Ando (CEO) |
Celltech Group plc was a leading British-based biotechnology business based in Slough. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Celltech was instrumental in changing the UK's system of technology transfer from research to business, and in creating the biotechnology industry. [1]
Celltech was formed in 1980 in response to the concern that Britain was failing to commercialise its science and was missing out on the potential of the new biotechnology. There was especial concern that whereas US firms had been creating rapidly growing firms such as Genentech around scientific discoveries in biotechnology, the UK had missed opportunities such as that believed to be provided by the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the production technique for Monoclonal antibody by Cesar Milstein and Georges Kohler at Cambridge University. [1]
The creation of Celltech was complicated, involving the National Enterprise Board, the National Research Development Corporation, and the Medical Research Council. The decision was made to give Celltech exclusive rights to all biotechnology discoveries in UK research institutions and universities. Although the company was conceived under a Labour Government it was born under a Conservative government, with the Minister responsible, Sir Keith Joseph, being particularly averse to government intervention in industry. As a result, he ensured the company was majority owned by the private sector. The company thus began life with very high expectations: first, that a small start up could successfully commercialise the UK's scientific output in biotechnology, and second, that it could meet the profit expectations of private sector investors. [2]
Celltech's founding CEO was Gerard Fairtlough, who worked in the National Enterprise Board and saw the opportunities presented by biotechnology. He created the plan for Celltech and when the Board was created, it believed he was the best person to lead it. Fairtlough was an inspirational leader with innovative ideas on organisation. [3] In the decade that Fairtlough led Celltech, he not only helped found a significant scientific endeavour whose example led to improved ambition and ability to commercialise UK research, but introduced a new way of organising high technology firms. [4]
In 1999 Celltech led consolidation in the UK biosciences market merging with Chiroscience plc, after which it was briefly referred to as Celltech Chiroscience, [5] [6] and then buying Medeva plc. [7] Then in 2000 it bought Cistron, a US biosciences business. [8] It expanded into Germany in 2001 buying Thiemann, a German biosciences business, [9] and went on to buy Oxford Glycosciences in July 2003 for £102m. [10] Celltech was acquired by UCB, a Belgian drugmaker, in 2004. [11]
The company was engaged in research and development of therapies for patients with serious diseases. Products included: [12]
Amongst the work conducted at Celltech was the cloning of the glutamine synthetase (GS) gene in CHO cells leading to the creation of a biotechnology tool still widely used to express recombinant eukaryotic proteins. [14]
AstraZeneca plc (AZ) is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas including oncology, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infection, neuroscience, respiratory, and inflammation. It has been involved in developing the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Pharmacia & Upjohn was a global pharmaceutical company formed by the merger of Sweden-based Pharmacia AB and the American company Upjohn in 1995. Today the remainder of the company is owned by Pfizer. In 1997, Pharmacia & Upjohn sold several brands to Johnson & Johnson, including Motrin and Cortaid.
Chiroscience Group Plc was a British-based biotech company, founded by Christopher Evans. The company was taken over by Celltech in 1999, which was acquired in 2004 by UCB.
UCB is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. UCB is an international company with revenue of €4.178 billion in 2016 which focuses primarily on research and development, specifically involving medications centered on epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and Crohn's disease. The company's efforts are focused on treatments for severe diseases treated by specialists, particularly in the fields of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, inflammatory disorders, and oncology.
Sir Christopher Thomas Evans is a Welsh professor, scientist and biotechnology entrepreneur. Evans is known for founding and co-founding numerous successful biotech companies in the United Kingdom.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is an American supplier of analytical instruments, life sciences solutions, specialty diagnostics, laboratory, pharmaceutical and biotechnology services. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Thermo Fisher was formed through the merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific in 2006. Thermo Fisher Scientific has acquired other reagent, consumable, instrumentation, and service providers, including Life Technologies Corporation (2013), Alfa Aesar (2015), Affymetrix (2016), FEI Company (2016), BD Advanced Bioprocessing (2018), and PPD (2021).
Lonza Group is a Swiss multinational manufacturing company for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and nutrition sectors, headquartered in Basel, with major facilities in Europe, North America and South Asia. Lonza was established under that name in the late 19th-century in Switzerland. The company provides product development services to the pharmaceutical and biologic industries, including custom manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals and detection systems and services for the bioscience sector.
Abcam Limited is a producer, distributor and seller of protein research tools operating worldwide from 13 locations with 1,800 employees of which 400 work in Research and Development (R&D). Abcam was listed on the Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Danaher Corporation in 2023.
Mark Jonathan Dodgson is an Australian academic and author. His research on the innovation process has influenced innovation management and policy worldwide.
Cambridge Antibody Technology was a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom. Its core focus was on antibody therapeutics, primarily using Phage Display and Ribosome Display technology.
A Master of Bioscience Enterprise is a specialised degree taught at The University of Auckland, New Zealand, Karolinska Institute, Sweden and The University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. The MBE is an interdisciplinary programme incorporating multiple faculties and includes significant industry involvement.
Dundee Cell Products (DCP) is a biotechnology company headquartered in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom.
David Chiswell OBE is a British business executive and scientist who co-founded Cambridge Antibody Technology, a biosciences company in operation from 1990 to 2007. The company was an early innovator that pioneered the development of antibody drugs, including adalimumab, used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis among other things. CAT was described by The Independent newspaper as "the jewel in the crown of UK biotech."
BTG Limited is an international specialist healthcare company that is developing and commercialising products targeting critical care, cancer and other disorders. The current name was adopted when the British Technology Group changed its name on 27 May 1998. BTG was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index until it was acquired by Boston Scientific in August 2019.
BioMotiv is an accelerator company associated with The Harrington Project, an initiative centered at University Hospitals of Cleveland. Therapeutic opportunities were identified through relationships with The Harrington Discovery Institute, university and research institutions, disease foundations, and industry sources. Once opportunities are identified, BioMotiv oversees the development, funding, active management, and partnering of the therapeutic products.
Biotechnology in India is a sunrise sector within the Indian economy. Agencies of the Government of India concerned with the biotechnology industry include the Department of Biotechnology and the proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India. As of 2022, the sector is valued at $80 billion. Biotechnology in India is in a growth phase and the sector is expected to be valued at $150 billion by 2025 and surpass $300 billion in value by 2030.
Jane Osbourn, OBE, is a scientist and former chair of the UK BioIndustry Association.
ICON plc is an Irish headquartered Nasdaq listed multinational healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation that provides consulting, clinical development and commercialisation services for the pharmaceutical industry. As of June 2023, ICON had approximately 41,160 employees in 108 locations spread across 53 countries.
BIOTECanada, or the Industrial Biotechnology Association of Canada, is a Canadian biotechnology industry association based in Ottawa, Ontario. It is an industry-funded membership organization composed of over 250 national and international pharmaceutical and gene therapy companies, medical device manufacturers, agricultural science businesses, law firms, academic institutions, research and development networks, advertising agencies, insurance companies and financial services firms.
