Gregory L. Verdine

Last updated

Gregory L. Verdine
GLV Picture.jpg
Born
Gregory L. Verdine

(1959-06-10) June 10, 1959 (age 64)
NationalityAmerican
Citizenship United States
Alma mater
Known for Stapled peptides
Awards Searle Scholar Award (1990)
Scientific career
Fields Chemical biology [2]
Institutions
Thesis Binding of mitomycin C to a dinucleoside phosphate and DNA  (1986)
Doctoral advisor Koji Nakanishi and Maria Tomasz
Notable students Orlando D. Schärer

Gregory L. Verdine (born June 10, 1959) is an American chemical biologist, biotech entrepreneur, venture capitalist and university professor. [3] He is a founder of the field of chemical biology,[ citation needed ] which deals with the application of chemical techniques to biological systems. His work has focused on mechanisms of DNA repair and cell penetrability.

Contents

Verdine is the co-inventor with Christian Schafmeister of stapled peptides, a new class of drugs that combines the versatile binding properties of monoclonal antibodies with the cell-penetrating ability of small molecules. Verdine coined the term "drugging the undruggable" to describe the unique capabilities of stapled peptides. A close analog of a stapled peptide drug invented in the Verdine Lab, sulanemadlin (ALRN-6924), is a first-in-class dual MDM2/MDMX inhibitor currently in Phase II clinical development by Aileron Therapeutics, [4] which he co-founded in 2005. FogPharma, founded in 2016, aims to further develop stapled peptide technology for therapeutic use.

He has founded numerous other drug discovery companies, including six that are listed on the NASDAQ. His companies have succeeded in developing two FDA-approved drugs, romidepsin and paritaprevir, which are, respectively, an anticancer agent used in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and other peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs), and an acylsulfonamide inhibitor that is used to treat chronic hepatitis C.

Education and training

Verdine received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Saint Joseph's University and a PhD in Chemistry from Columbia University, working under Koji Nakanishi and Maria Tomasz. He held an NIH postdoctoral fellowship in molecular biology at MIT and Harvard Medical School, and joined the faculty of Harvard University in 1988. [5]

Academic career

Over the course of his academic career at Harvard University and the Harvard Medical School, Verdine has elucidated the molecular mechanism of epigenetic DNA methylation and pathways by which certain genotoxic forms of DNA damage are surveilled in and eradicated from the genome. [5] As a professor, Verdine introduced biological principles into organic chemistry courses and helped found two fields of science that meld basic research and new medicines discovery: chemical biology, which enlists chemistry to answer biological questions; and new modalities, which works to discover and develop novel structural classes of therapeutics. [6]

He has served as the Erving Professor of Chemistry in the Departments of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University since 1988. In 2013, he stepped down from his tenured professorship at Harvard, taking a leave of absence in order to focus full-time on steering Warp Drive Bio as CEO [7] [8] while continuing to run [8] his eponymous Verdine Laboratory at the Harvard University Department of Stem Cell & Regenerative Biology. The laboratory focused on research based in chemical biology, including synthetic biologics and genomic research,. [9] He has since transitioned to a 'professor of the practice' position at Harvard.

Research

In his academic research, Verdine made fundamental discoveries about how organisms manage their genomes: how they tag specific cell types and conduct search-and-destroy operations for cancer-causing abnormalities. [6] Verdine has published more than 190 academic articles. [2] [10] In 2005, Verdine and Anirban Banerjee published research in crystallography showing how enzymes could be used to fix flawed DNA. [11] In 2013, Verdine received a research grant to study cell-penetrating miniproteins in order to target cancer cells. [12] His work has led to the FDA approval of the drugs romidepsin and paritaprevir. [5]

Verdine is also the inventor of stapled peptide technology, which stabilizes peptides intended for therapeutic use by introducing an all-hydrocarbon “staple” into the peptide’s linear backbone. These “stapled” peptides have a higher affinity for their targets, enter cells more easily and are less readily degraded. [13]

Biotechnology

Companies

To translate his discoveries into therapeutics, Verdine has founded or co-founded numerous public biotech companies including Variagenics, Enanta, Eleven Bio, Tokai, Wave Life Sciences, and Aileron. [6] He also founded the private company Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Celgene in 2009. [14] His companies share the mission of developing molecules intended to target “hard-to-drug” endogenous targets that have remained out of reach of modern cell-penetration technologies. [12] [15]

FogPharma

In 2016, Verdine co-founded FogPharma with Sir David Lane to develop next-generation stapled peptides, Cell-Penetrating Miniproteins (CPMPs), a broad new class of medicines that aim to combine the cell-penetrating abilities of small molecules with the strong target engagement of biologics. [16]

LifeMine

Founded alongside FogPharma in 2016, LifeMine seeks to discover, characterize, and translate into medicine bioactive compounds in fungal genomes. [17]

Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute

Founded in 2013, the nonprofit Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute to study marine genomes for potential therapeutic compounds and to advance fisheries science. [18] He is also the founder and director of the Gloucester Biotechnology Academy, which is providing technical training in the life science industry to high school graduates in Gloucester, MA, USA. [5]

Warp Drive Bio

In 2012, Verdine founded Warp Drive Bio with cofounders George Church and James Wells. [19] The company maps the genomes of soil-dwelling microbes in the search for potential treatments for drug-resistant ailments. In 2013, Verdine became full-time CEO of Warp Drive Bio, [20] then handed the CEO position to Lawrence Reid in 2016 [21] in order to found two new startups, FogPharma and LifeMine.

Wave Life Sciences

Verdine is the Chairman of the Board of Wave Life Sciences, [22] which uses synthetic chemistry to develop nucleic acid therapeutic candidates. [23]

Venture capital

Verdine has worked in the venture capital industry as a Venture Partner with Apple Tree Partners, Third Rock Ventures, and WuXi Healthcare Ventures, and as a Special Advisor to Texas Pacific Group. [24]  

Scientific consultation

Verdine is a member of both the Board of Scientific Consultants of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Board of Scientific Advisors of the National Cancer Institute, [5] Advisory Board at Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation, and the Board of Reviewers at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. [25]

Recent recognition

2019 - Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, Clarkson University [26]

2019 - Herman S. Bloch Award for Scientific Excellence in Industry, University of Chicago [6]

2011 - American Association for Cancer Research Award for Excellence in Chemistry in Cancer Research [27]

2007 - Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry, with Anirban Banerjee [28]

2005 - Royal Society of Chemistry Nucleic Acid Award Lecture, Responses to DNA Damage conference [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leroy Hood</span> American biologist (born 1938)

Leroy "Lee" Edward Hood is an American biologist who has served on the faculties at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Washington. Hood has developed ground-breaking scientific instruments which made possible major advances in the biological sciences and the medical sciences. These include the first gas phase protein sequencer (1982), for determining the sequence of amino acids in a given protein; a DNA synthesizer (1983), to synthesize short sections of DNA; a peptide synthesizer (1984), to combine amino acids into longer peptides and short proteins; the first automated DNA sequencer (1986), to identify the order of nucleotides in DNA; ink-jet oligonucleotide technology for synthesizing DNA and nanostring technology for analyzing single molecules of DNA and RNA.

Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. The corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Synthélabo merged with Aventis and renamed to Sanofi-Aventis, which were each the product of several previous mergers. It changed its name back to Sanofi in May 2011. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. In 2023, the company’s seat in Forbes Global 2000 was 89.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert S. Langer</span> American scientist

Robert Samuel Langer Jr. FREng is an American biotechnologist, businessman, chemical engineer, chemist, and inventor. He is one of the nine Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celgene</span> American biopharmaceutical company

Celgene Corporation is a pharmaceutical company that makes cancer and immunology drugs. Its major product is Revlimid (lenalidomide), which is used in the treatment of multiple myeloma, and also in certain anemias. The company is incorporated in Delaware, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, and a subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genome Valley</span> Life Sciences in Telangana, India

Genome Valley is an Indian high-technology business district spread across 2,000-acre (8.1 km2)/(3.1 sq mi) in Hyderabad, India. It is located across the suburbs, Turakapally, Shamirpet, Medchal, Uppal, Patancheru, Jeedimetla, Gachibowli and Keesara. The Genome Valley has developed as a cluster for Biomedical research, training and manufacturing. Genome Valley is now into its Phase III, which is about 11 km from the Phase I and II with the total area approximately 2,000-acre (8.1 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Church (geneticist)</span> American geneticist

George McDonald Church is an American geneticist, molecular engineer, chemist, serial entrepreneur, and pioneer in personal genomics and synthetic biology. He is the Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a founding member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.

Aled Morgan Edwards is the founder and Chief Executive of the Structural Genomics Consortium, a charitable public-private partnership. He is Professor of Medical Genetics and Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto, Visiting Professor of Chemical Biology at the University of Oxford, and Adjunct Professor at McGill University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthias Mann</span> German physicist and biochemist (born 1959)

Matthias Mann is a German physicist and biochemist. He is doing research in the area of mass spectrometry and proteomics.

Christoph Westphal is an American biomedical businessman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen J. Lippard</span> American chemist

Stephen James Lippard is the Arthur Amos Noyes Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is considered one of the founders of bioinorganic chemistry, studying the interactions of nonliving substances such as metals with biological systems. He is also considered a founder of metalloneurochemistry, the study of metal ions and their effects in the brain and nervous system. He has done pioneering work in understanding protein structure and synthesis, the enzymatic functions of methane monooxygenase (MMO), and the mechanisms of cisplatin anticancer drugs. His work has applications for the treatment of cancer, for bioremediation of the environment, and for the development of synthetic methanol-based fuels.

Willem P. C. "Pim" Stemmer was a Dutch scientist and entrepreneur who invented numerous biotechnologies. He was the founder and CEO of Amunix Inc., a company that creates "pharmaceutical proteins with extended dosing frequency". His other prominent inventions include DNA shuffling, now referred to as molecular breeding. He holds more than 97 patents. Stemmer was honored with the Charles Stark Draper Prize in 2011 for the pioneering contributions to directed evolution which won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018. He was elected as member of National Academy of Engineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evotec</span> German biopharmaceutical company

Evotec SE is a publicly listed drug discovery and development company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The company operates globally, largely through external alliances with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, patient advocacy groups, and venture capitalists. As of 31 December 2021 Evotec had a market capitalization of €7.5 billion and a pipeline of more than 130 partnered programs in discovery, pre-clinical development and clinical development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurence Pearl</span> British biologist

Laurence Harris Pearl FRS FMedSci is a British biochemist and structural biologist who is currently Professor of Structural Biology in the Genome Damage and Stability Centre and was Head of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Sussex.

Atlas Venture is an early-stage venture capital firm that creates and invests in biotechnology startup companies in the U.S. Atlas is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the majority of its investments are located. Atlas raised its thirteenth fund totaling $450 million in March 2022, after raising its Opportunity Fund II totaling $300 million in September 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stapled peptide</span>

A stapled peptide is a modified peptide, typically in an alpha-helical conformation, that is constrained by a synthetic brace ("staple"). The staple is formed by a covalent linkage between two amino acid side-chains, forming a peptide macrocycle. Staples, generally speaking, refer to a covalent linkage of two previously independent entities. Peptides with multiple, tandem staples are sometimes referred to as stitched peptides. Among other applications, peptide stapling is notably used to enhance the pharmacologic performance of peptides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Lustig</span>

Kevin Donald Lustig is an American scientist and entrepreneur and founder of three life science companies: the pharmaceutical company Kalypsys in 2001; the online research marketplace Scientist.com in 2007; and the non-profit lab incubator Bio, Tech and Beyond in 2013.

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

Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. is an American clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel, potentially curative therapeutics leveraging CRISPR-based technologies. The company's in vivo programs use intravenously administered CRISPR as the therapy, in which the company's proprietary delivery technology enables highly precise editing of disease-causing genes directly within specific target tissues. Intellia's ex vivo programs use CRISPR to create the therapy by using engineered human cells to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando D. Schärer</span> Swiss chemist and biologist

Orlando David Schärer is a Swiss chemist and biologist researching DNA repair, genomic integrity, and cancer biology. Schärer has taught biology, chemistry and pharmacology at various university levels on three continents. He is a distinguished professor at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and an associate director of the IBS Center for Genomic Integrity located in Ulsan, South Korea. He leads the three interdisciplinary research teams in the Chemical & Cancer Biology Branch of the center and specifically heads the Cancer Therapeutics Mechanisms Section.

The Exploratory Science Center (ESC) is a pharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, MA. The disease agnostic research site was founded in 2016, and was led by Daria Hazuda until 2021. In late 2021 Juan Alvarez took on leadership as the interim head and Marc Levesque took on leadership in 2022. The Exploratory Science Center is a subsidiary of Merck & Co.

Angela N. Koehler is an American biochemist who is the Karl Van Tassel (1925) Career Development Professor of Chemical Biology at the Broad Institute. Her research considers the development of chemical tools to understand transcriptional regulation, and the design of next-generation pharmaceuticals.

References

  1. Gregory L. Verdine C.V., Studylib.net. Accessed December 17, 2017. "Born:June 10, 1959, Somers Point, New Jersey, USA"
  2. 1 2 Gregory L. Verdine publications indexed by Google Scholar
  3. "Gregory Verdine". HSCRB. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  4. "Clinical Trials". Aileron Therapeutics. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Gregory Verdine Biography, Harvard University
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Gregory Verdine earns two honors in three days". chemistry.harvard.edu. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  7. "Xconomy: Harvard Professor Steps Down to Pilot Warp Drive Bio". Xconomy. July 2, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Xconomy: Ex-Alnylam Exec to Steer Warp Drive Bio; Verdine Shifts Roles". Xconomy. March 4, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  9. Verdine Lab, Harvard University
  10. PubMed
  11. Amanda Yarnell, Enzyme Finds, Fixes Flawed DNA, Chemical & Engineering News
  12. 1 2 Ben Fidler, With Latest Startup, Harvard’s Verdine Again Aims at Elusive Targets, Xconomy.com
  13. Amanda Goh, Stapled Peptides: Targeting the "Undruggable", BioIT World
  14. "Xconomy: Celgene Agrees to Acquire Gloucester Pharma for $340M Cash Upfront, $300M Later". Xconomy. December 7, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  15. Matthew Herper, Can Bush's NIH Chief Fix the Drug Industry, Forbes
  16. "Fogpharma". Fog Pharma. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  17. "LifeMine – Mining the Medicines of Life". lifeminetx.com. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  18. Katheleen Conti, Can the nation’s oldest seaport reinvent itself?, Boston Globe
  19. "Warp Drive Bio Launches With $125 Million from Third Rock Ventures, Greylock, Sanofi (France)". BioSpace. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  20. "Warp Drive Bio Appoints Co-Founder Gregory Verdine, Ph.D., to Chief Executive Officer". FierceBiotech. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  21. "In conversation with: Laurence Reid, Warp Drive Bio CEO". FierceBiotech. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  22. Damian Garde,Wave LifeSci Banks $66M with a "Pure" Take on Synthetic Chemistry, FierceBiotech.com
  23. Jessica Moore, Brokerages Expect WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) to Post -$0.75 EPS, The CERBAT GEM
  24. "Gregory Verdine". HSCRB. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  25. Bloomberg Executive Profile
  26. "Gregory Verdine Awarded Clarkson University Honorary Degree | Clarkson University". www.clarkson.edu. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  27. "AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research". www.aacr.org. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  28. "Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry". American Chemical Society. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  29. "Nucleic Acids Group Awards". www.rsc.org. Retrieved October 26, 2019.