 | |
| Public | |
| Industry | Pharmaceuticals |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Predecessor | British Biotech, Vernalis Group |
| Successor | Vernalis Research, a Ligand Company |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Defunct | 2018 |
| Headquarters | Winnersh, UK |
Key people | Chairman: Peter Fellner (2003-2018), CEO Simon J. Sturge (2003-2008), Ian R. Garland (2008-2018) |
Vernalis plc was a UK-based pharmaceuticals business headquartered in Winnersh, with research in Cambridge, and with a Berwyn, PA, US-based commercial operation, Vernalis Therapeutics Inc., focusing on the sales and marketing of slow-release formulations of prescription cough and cold medicines. Tuzistra XR (codeine polistirex/ chlorpheniramine polistirex) was the first launched product which arose from this strategy, [1] however sales did not reach expectations. [2] As a result, the strategy was abandoned and the company was put up for sale. [3] Vernalis plc was listed on AIM until its acquisition by Ligand Holdings (UK) Ltd, a subsidiary of Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LGND) on 10 October 2018. [4]
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country located off the northwestern coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea separates Great Britain and Ireland. The United Kingdom's 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi) were home to an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.
The pharmaceutical industry discovers, develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered to patients, with the aim to cure them, vaccinate them, or alleviate the symptoms. Pharmaceutical companies may deal in generic or brand medications and medical devices. They are subject to a variety of laws and regulations that govern the patenting, testing, safety, efficacy and marketing of drugs.
Winnersh is a large suburban village and civil parish in the borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. The village is located around 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Wokingham town centre around 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of central Reading. It is roughly bounded by the M4 motorway to the south, the A329(M) motorway to the north, and the River Loddon to the west. The parish extends beyond the M4 to cover the estate village of Sindlesham.
Vernalis plc (formerly known as British Biotech plc prior to 1 October 2003), arose from two company mergers. [5] The first merger, with the privately held Cambridge-based RiboTargets Holdings plc, was completed in April 2003, and brought a structure-based drug discovery capability focused on novel cancer targets. [6] The second merger, with Vernalis Group, was completed in September 2003 and brought a marketed product, frovatriptan, a clinical portfolio and drug discovery programmes focused on CNS disorders. [7]
British Biotech was a British-based biotechnology company founded as British Biotechnology Limited in 1986 by former G D Searle managers Keith McCullagh and Brian Richards. It was the first British biotech company to be publicly listed when it was floated on 1 July 1992.
Cambridge is a university city and the county town of Cambridgeshire, England, on the River Cam approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of London. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, its population was 123,867 including 24,506 students. Cambridge became an important trading centre during the Roman and Viking ages, and there is archaeological evidence of settlement in the area as early as the Bronze Age. The first town charters were granted in the 12th century, although modern city status was not officially conferred until 1951.
Vernalis Group was a British-based pharmaceuticals business headquartered in Winnersh. The Vernalis name comes from the verb “to vernalise”, meaning nurture or develop, and is derived from the Latin word vernus, meaning "of the spring".
Its successful Cambridge, UK-based research facility, with expertise in fragment and structure-based drug discovery, continues as Vernalis Research, a Ligand Company. The company is engaged in research collaborations with pharmaceuticals industry partners, and maintains a pipeline of commercially partnered and non-partnered drug candidates in pre-clinical and clinical development.
Fragment-based lead discovery (FBLD) also known as fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) is a method used for finding lead compounds as part of the drug discovery process. Fragments are small organic molecules which are small in size and low in molecular weight. It is based on identifying small chemical fragments, which may bind only weakly to the biological target, and then growing them or combining them to produce a lead with a higher affinity. FBLD can be compared with high-throughput screening (HTS). In HTS, libraries with up to millions of compounds, with molecular weights of around 500 Da, are screened, and nanomolar binding affinities are sought. In contrast, in the early phase of FBLD, libraries with a few thousand compounds with molecular weights of around 200 Da may be screened, and millimolar affinities can be considered useful. FBLD is a technique being used in research for discovering novel potent inhibitors.
Vernalis Research develops and applies fragment and structure-based methods to drug discovery, and has generated cell active lead compounds and development candidates against biological targets in oncology, neurodegeneration, anti-infectives and inflammation.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company located in San Diego, California. Founded in 1987 as Progenx Inc., the company went public in 1992. Initially focused on developing its own drugs, a period of turbulence in the early 2000s culminated in its CEO being ejected by the shareholders and provoked a change in focus to the acquisition of existing drugs and forming partnerships to develop them further.
