Pieter Cullis

Last updated

Pieter R. Cullis
FRS FRSC OBC OC
Born1946 (age 77–78)
Nationality Canadian
Education University of British Columbia (BSc, Physics, 1964-1967)

University of British Columbia (PhD, Physics, 1967-1972) University of Oxford (Postdoc, Biochemistry, 1973-1976)

Contents

Utrecht University (Postdoc, Biochemistry, 1977)
Known for Lipid nanoparticles
Scientific career
Thesis Electron paramagnetic resonance of phosphorus doped silicon in the intermediate impurity concentration range  (1972)
Doctoral advisor J.R. Marko
Website www.liposomes.ca

Pieter Rutter Cullis FRS FRSC OBC OC is a Canadian physicist and biochemist known for his contributions to the field of lipid nanoparticles (LNP). [1] Cullis and co-workers have been responsible for fundamental advances in the development of nanomedicines employing lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology for cancer therapies, gene therapies and vaccines. This work has contributed to five drugs that have received clinical approval by the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA), the European Medicines Agency, and Health Canada.

Cullis has also co-founded eleven biotechnology companies that now employ over 400 people, has published over 400 scientific articles (h-index 138) and is an inventor on over 100 patents. Companies he has co-founded include Acuitas Therapeutics, Integrated Nanotherapeutics, Precision NanoSystems, and NanoVation Therapeutics. He has also co-founded and has been the Founding Scientific Director of two National Centre of Excellence networks: the Centre for Drug Research and Development (now AdMare) in 2004 and the NanoMedicines Innovation Network in 2019. These not-for-profit networks are aimed at translating basic research in the life sciences into commercially viable products.

Two recently approved drugs that are enabled by LNP delivery systems devised by Cullis, members of his UBC laboratory, and colleagues in the companies he has co-founded deserve special emphasis. The first is Onpattro which was approved by the US FDA in August 2018 to treat the previously fatal hereditary condition transthyretin-induced amyloidosis (hATTR). Onpattro is the first RNAi drug to receive regulatory approval. The second is Comirnaty, the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech that has received regulatory approval in many jurisdictions including Canada, the USA, the UK and Europe. Comirnaty has played a major role in containing the global COVID-19 pandemic with approximately 6B doses administered worldwide in 2021 and 2022.

Research Interests

Cullis's research interests concern the roles of lipids in biological membranes and the development of nanomedicines using lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology. His studies on the roles of lipids focus on two areas. The first concerns the ability of membrane lipids to adopt non-bilayer structures and the roles of such structures in processes such as membrane fusion. The second area focuses on transport across bilayer lipid systems induced by trans-bilayer ion gradients. His interests in nanomedicines first concern the design and synthesis of LNP delivery systems containing small molecule drugs, particularly drugs used in cancer chemotherapy, with the aim of increasing potency and reducing toxicity by enhancing drug delivery to, and release at, sites of disease such as tumours. A second area involves using LNP technology to enable the therapeutic use of macromolecular genetic drugs such as small interfering RNA (siRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA) for gene therapy, including gene editing. These efforts have led to five nanomedicines that have been approved for clinical use by regulatory agencies such as the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA), the European Medicines Agency and Health Canada (see Table below).

Two of these nanomedicines were recently approved and are of particular note. First is the drug Onpattro , a gene therapy that was approved (August 2018) by the FDA to treat hereditary amyloid transthyretin (hATTR) amyloidosis. Onpattro is the first-in-class RNAi-based drug to be approved by the FDA and employs an LNP delivery system developed in collaboration with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (Boston), his laboratory at UBC and two spin-offs that he co-founded (Protiva/Arbutus and Acuitas Therapeutics). Onpattro delivers an siRNA to silence the TTR gene in the liver. A remarkable feature of Onpattro is that it is able to not only stop further progression of this hitherto untreatable disease (which usually leads to death within five years of diagnosis), but also to reverse the neuropathies and cardiovascular issues associated with hATTR. The second class of medicines are the mRNA Covid 19 vaccines that Acuitas developed with Pfizer/BioNTech and CureVac. The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 relies on an LNP delivery system developed by Acuitas. BNT162b2 (Comirnaty) was approved for emergency use [2] (December 2020) by the US FDA and has subsequently been approved by the US [3] , UK, Canada, Europe and many other countries worldwide. These approvals were made on the basis of a 95% efficacy in preventing COVID-19, together with an excellent safety profile. More than five billion doses of this vaccine were administered globally in 2021-22 and the vaccine has been credited with saving over six million lives in 2021 alone [4] .

Nanomedicine Drugs

The following approved nanomedicine drugs have been co-developed by Cullis's laboratory at the University of British Columbia and by the companies he has co-founded (Inex Pharmaceuticals Corp, Protiva Biotherapeutics, Canadian Liposome Company, Acuitas Therapeutics).

Nanomedicine DrugTrade NameIndicationStatus (2020)Company
LNP AmphotericinAbelcetFungal infectionsApproved US, Europe - 1995 Enzon/Canadian Lipo Co
LNP DoxorubicinMyocetMetastatic breast cancerApproved Europe, Canada - 2000 Cephalon/Canadian Lipo Co
LNP VincristineMarqiboAcute lymphoblastic leukemiaApproved US - 2012 Spectrum Pharma/Inex
LNP siRNA TTROnpattroTransthyretin-induced amyloidosisApproved US, Europe - 2018 Alnylam/Acuitas
LNP mRNA SARS Cov 2ComirnatyCOVID-19 mRNA vaccineApproved US, Europe - 2021 Pfizer/BioNTech/Acuitas

Research and Professional Experience

Institution/CompanyTitle
UBC, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular BiologyAssistant Professor (1978); Associate Professor (1982); Professor (1985-present)
Lipex Biomembranes (now Evonik Canada)Co-Founder (1985); Chairman (1985 -2000)
Canadian Liposome CompanyCo-Founder (1986); Director & President (1986-1991)
Northern Lipids (now Evonik Canada)Co-Founder (1992); Director (1992-1996)
Inex Pharmaceuticals Corp (now GeneVant)Co-Founder (1992); Director (1992-2007); VP Research (1992-2004)
Protiva Biotherapeutics (now Arbutus)Co-founder (2001); Director & Chair, SAB (2001-2005)
Centre Drug Research & Development (now AdMare)Co-founder (2004); Scientific Director (2004-2010)
Acuitas Therapeutics Co-Founder (2009); Chairman (2009-2021)
Precision NanoSystemsCo-Founder (2010); Chairman (2010-2015)
Personalized Medicine InitiativeCo-Founder (2011); Chairman (2011-2017)
Life Sciences Institute, UBCDirector (2013-2017)
GenXys Health Care SystemsCo-Founder (2014); Director (2014-2016)
MesentechCo-Founder (2014); Director (2014-2019)
Molecular You CorporationCo-Founder (2014); Chairman (2014-present)
AllerGen National Centre of ExcellenceDirector (2014-present); Chairman (2017-present)
Integrated NanoTherapeuticsCo-Founder (2015); Chairman (2015-2021)
NanoMedicines Innovation Network NCEFounder (2019); Scientific Director & CEO (2019-2021)
NanoVation TherapeuticsCo-Founder (2020); Chairman (2020-present)

Academic and Professional Awards

StartEndName of AwardAgency
19731976MRC Postdoctoral FellowshipCanadian Medical Research Council
19771977EMBO Postdoctoral FellowshipEuropean Molecular Biology Organization
19781982MRC ScholarMedical Research Council of Canada
19831989MRC ScientistMedical Research Council of Canada
1986Ayerst AwardCanadian Biochemical Society
19881989UBC Killam Research PrizeUniversity of British Columbia
1988Jacob Bierly Research PrizeUniversity of British Columbia
1991Gold Medal for Health SciencesBC Science Council
2000Alec Bangham AwardInternational Liposome Society
2002Award for Innovation and AchievementBC Biotechnology Alliance
2004 Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada Royal Society of Canada
2005Barre AwardUniversity of Montreal
2005UBC Alumni Award for Research, Science & Medicine [5] University of British Columbia
2010CSPS Leadership AwardCanadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences
2011Bill and Marilyn Webber Lifetime Achievement Award [6] University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
2011Prix Galien Canada Research Award [7] Prix Galien Canada
2012Senior Faculty Award-Outstanding ContributionsUniversity of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
2015Milton Wong Leadership AwardLife Science BC
2016Lifetime Achievement AwardJournal of Drug Targeting
2018Fellow National Academy of InventorsNational Academy of Inventors, USA
2021Founder’s Award [8] Controlled Release Society, USA
2021 Prince Mahidol Award (Medicine) [9] Prince Mahidol Award Foundation, Thailand
2021Officer, Order of Canada [10] Governor General of Canada
2022 VinFuture Prize, Grand Prize [11] VinFuture Foundation, Vietnam
2022Canada Gairdner International Award [12] Gairdner Foundation, Canada
2022Lipid Science Prize [13] Camurus Foundation, Sweden
2022Thudichum Life Award [14] Phospholipid Research Centre, Germany
2022UBC Alumni Award of Distinction [5] University of British Columbia
2022 Tang Prize (Biopharmaceutical Science) [15] Tang Foundation, Taiwan
2022Governor General’s Innovation Award [16] Rideau Hall Foundation, Canada
2022Global Impact Award [17] Life Sciences BC
2022Bloom Burton Award [18] Bloom Burton & Co.
2023Julia Levy Award [19] Society for Chemical Industry
2023Doctorate Honoris CausaGhent University, Belgium
2023Killam Prize [20] Killam Foundation, National Research Council, Canada
2023 Fellow of the Royal Society [21] Royal Society, London
2023Sultan Karim Medal of Excellence in Clinical Pharmacology [22] University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
2023Member, Order of British Columbia [23] Governor General of BC
2023Member, Canadian Medical Hall of Fame [24] Canadian Medical Hall of Fame
2023 Harvey Prize (awarded for the year 2021) [25] Technion, Israel
2023Bill and Marilyn Webber Lifetime Achievement Award [26] University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
2024Maurice-Marie Janot Award [27] Association de Pharmacie Galénique Industrielle, France

Related Research Articles

Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials and biological devices, to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology such as biological machines. Current problems for nanomedicine involve understanding the issues related to toxicity and environmental impact of nanoscale materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pfizer</span> American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation

Pfizer Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer (1824–1906) and his cousin Charles F. Erhart (1821–1891).

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is the medicine and therapeutic regulatory agency of the Australian Government. As part of the Department of Health and Aged Care, the TGA regulates the quality, supply and advertising of medicines, pathology devices, medical devices, blood products and most other therapeutics. Any items that claim to have a therapeutic effect, are involved in the administration of medication, or are otherwise covered by the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990, or a ministerial order, must be approved by the TGA and registered in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solid lipid nanoparticle</span> Novel drug delivery system

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are nanoparticles composed of lipids. They are a novel pharmaceutical drug delivery system, and a novel pharmaceutical formulation. LNPs as a drug delivery vehicle were first approved in 2018 for the siRNA drug Onpattro. LNPs became more widely known in late 2020, as some COVID-19 vaccines that use RNA vaccine technology coat the fragile mRNA strands with PEGylated lipid nanoparticles as their delivery vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moderna</span> American biotechnology company

Moderna, Inc. is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that focuses on RNA therapeutics, primarily mRNA vaccines. These vaccines use a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to carry instructions for proteins to produce an immune response. The company's name is derived from the terms "modified", "RNA", and "modern".

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an American biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics for genetically defined diseases. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2016, Forbes included the company on its "100 Most Innovative Growth Companies" list.

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. is an American RNA medicines biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapeutics for rare diseases and infectious diseases. Arcturus has developed proprietary lipid nanoparticle RNA therapeutics for nucleic acid medicines including small interfering RNA (siRNA), messenger RNA (mRNA), gene editing RNA, DNA, antisense oligonucleotides, and microRNA.

mRNA vaccine Type of vaccine

An mRNAvaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine delivers molecules of antigen-encoding mRNA into immune cells, which use the designed mRNA as a blueprint to build foreign protein that would normally be produced by a pathogen or by a cancer cell. These protein molecules stimulate an adaptive immune response that teaches the body to identify and destroy the corresponding pathogen or cancer cells. The mRNA is delivered by a co-formulation of the RNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles that protect the RNA strands and help their absorption into the cells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moderna COVID-19 vaccine</span> RNA COVID-19 vaccine

The Moderna COVID‑19 vaccine, sold under the brand name Spikevax, is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the American company Moderna, the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Depending on the jurisdiction, it is authorized for use in humans aged six months, twelve years, or eighteen years and older. It provides protection against COVID-19, which is caused by infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is designed to be administered in two or three 0.5-mL doses given by intramuscular injection at an interval of at least 28 days apart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katalin Karikó</span> Hungarian-American biochemist (born 1955)

Katalin "Kati" Karikó is a Hungarian-American biochemist who specializes in ribonucleic acid (RNA)-mediated mechanisms, particularly in vitro-transcribed messenger RNA (mRNA) for protein replacement therapy. Karikó laid the scientific groundwork for mRNA vaccines, overcoming major obstacles and skepticism in the scientific community. Karikó received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2023 for her work, along with American immunologist Drew Weissman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BioNTech</span> German biotechnology company

BioNTech SE is a German biotechnology company based in Mainz that develops and manufactures active immunotherapies for patient-specific approaches to the treatment of diseases. It develops pharmaceutical candidates based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) for use as individualized cancer immunotherapies, as vaccines against infectious diseases and as protein replacement therapies for rare diseases, and also engineered cell therapy, novel antibodies and small molecule immunomodulators as treatment options for cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uğur Şahin</span> German oncologist and immunologist (born 1965)

Uğur Şahin is a German oncologist and immunologist. He is the founder and CEO of BioNTech, which developed one of the major vaccines against COVID-19. His main fields of research are cancer research and immunology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine</span> Type of vaccine for humans

The Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, sold under the brand name Comirnaty, is an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by the German biotechnology company BioNTech. For its development, BioNTech collaborated with the American company Pfizer to carry out clinical trials, logistics, and manufacturing. It is authorized for use in humans to provide protection against COVID-19, caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The vaccine is given by intramuscular injection. It is composed of nucleoside-modified mRNA (modRNA) that encodes a mutated form of the full-length spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which is encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles. Initial guidance recommended a two-dose regimen, given 21 days apart; this interval was subsequently extended to up to 42 days in the United States, and up to four months in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ALC-0315</span> Chemical compound

ALC-0315 is a synthetic lipid. A colorless oily material, it has attracted attention as a component of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, BNT162b2, from BioNTech and Pfizer. Specifically, it is one of four components that form lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which encapsulate and protect the otherwise fragile mRNA that is the active ingredient in these drugs. These nanoparticles promote the uptake of therapeutically effective nucleic acids such as oligonucleotides or mRNA both in vitro and in vivo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew Weissman</span> American physician and immunologist (born 1959)

Drew Weissman is an American physician and immunologist known for his contributions to RNA biology. Weissman is the inaugural Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research, director of the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation, and professor of medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of COVID-19 vaccine development</span> Scientific work to develop a vaccine for COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was isolated in late 2019. Its genetic sequence was published on 11 January 2020, triggering an urgent international response to prepare for an outbreak and hasten the development of a preventive COVID-19 vaccine. Since 2020, vaccine development has been expedited via unprecedented collaboration in the multinational pharmaceutical industry and between governments. By June 2020, tens of billions of dollars were invested by corporations, governments, international health organizations, and university research groups to develop dozens of vaccine candidates and prepare for global vaccination programs to immunize against COVID‑19 infection. According to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the geographic distribution of COVID‑19 vaccine development shows North American entities to have about 40% of the activity, compared to 30% in Asia and Australia, 26% in Europe, and a few projects in South America and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acuitas Therapeutics</span> Canadian biotechnology company

Acuitas Therapeutics Inc. is a Canadian biotechnology company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company was established in February 2009 to specialize in the development of delivery systems for nucleic acid therapeutics based on lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology, a key component of the mRNA vaccines deployed for COVID-19.

References

  1. ↑ "Meet the Canadian scientist who paved the way for groundbreaking mRNA COVID vaccines | CBC Radio" . Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  2. ↑ Commissioner, Office of the (14 December 2020). "FDA Takes Key Action in Fight Against COVID-19 By Issuing Emergency Use Authorization for First COVID-19 Vaccine". FDA. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  3. ↑ Commissioner, Office of the (23 August 2021). "FDA Approves First COVID-19 Vaccine". FDA. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  4. ↑ "Which covid-19 vaccine saved the most lives in 2021?". The Economist. ISSN   0013-0613 . Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Alumni Achievement Awards Past Recipients". alumni UBC. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  6. ↑ "2011 Faculty of Medicine awards". UBC News. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  7. ↑ "The Prix Galien Canada – Product Innovation Award". Innovative Medicines Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  8. ↑ "2021 Awards Announced | Controlled Release Society (CRS)". www.controlledreleasesociety.org. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  9. ↑ "Professor Pieter Cullis". Prince Mahidol Award Foundation. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  10. ↑ General, Office of the Secretary to the Governor (20 December 2021). "Governor General announces 135 appointments to the Order of Canada". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  11. ↑ "Professor Pieter R. Cullis". VinFuture Prize. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  12. ↑ Foundation, The Gairdner (1 June 2023). "Pieter Cullis - Gairdner Foundation Award Winner". The Gairdner Foundation. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  13. ↑ "CLRF Lipid Science Prize 2021/2022 – Camurus Lipid Research Foundation" (in Swedish). Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  14. ↑ "The Thudichum Award". Phospholipid Research Center. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  15. ↑ "Tang Prize | Media | 2022 Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science Honors Three Scientists for Developing COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines". www.tang-prize.org. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  16. ↑ "2022 Archives". Governor General’s Innovation Awards. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  17. ↑ "24th Annual Life Sciences BC Awards presented by Farris". Life Sciences British Columbia. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  18. ↑ "Pieter Cullis Receives the 2022 Bloom Burton Award". Bloom Burton. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  19. ↑ "SCI Canada Awards". www.soci.org. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  20. ↑ "Pieter Cullis - 2023 Killam Prize". Killam Laureates. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  21. ↑ "Fellow Detail Page | Royal Society". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  22. ↑ Chow, Qian (10 July 2023). "UBC Faculty of Medicine honours exceptional Canadian researchers in cancer, heart, brain disorders and clinical pharmacology". UBC Faculty of Medicine. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  23. ↑ Secretariat, Intergovernmental Relations (7 August 2023). "B.C.'s highest honour recognizes 14 British Columbians | BC Gov News". news.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  24. ↑ "Pieter Cullis, OC PhD | CMHF". www.cdnmedhall.ca. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  25. ↑ "Prize Winners – Harvey Prize | פרס הארווי". harveypz.net.technion.ac.il. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  26. ↑ "Faculty of Medicine Awards 2023". UBC Faculty of Medicine. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  27. ↑ "Maurice-Marie JANOT Award". APGI - Association de Pharmacie Galénique Industrielle. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
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