CHAIN has developed a platform technology called CADDTM for oral drug delivery based on living bacteria (known as live biotherapeutics). CADDTM is unique, transformational with broad clinical applicability. US and EU patents describing the use of CADDTM to treat inflammatory bowel disease have recently been granted.
Marlow, UK – 7th May 2021 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UK-based CHAIN Biotechnology (CHAIN) develops novel therapeutics based on living bacteria that have been engineered to deliver therapeutic cargo to the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The lower GI tract is an area of major clinical importance, housing a large portion of the gut microbiome as well as providing access to the immune system via the gut mucosa.
Drug delivery to the lower GI tract is difficult using conventional approaches and diseases associated with this organ can be devastating for patients. CHAIN’s European patent (EP 3515429) and US patent (10,987,325) relate to the development of a living biotherapeutics for treating inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer.
The therapeutic cargo is a metabolite called (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate or β-hydroxybutyrate (β -HB). This is the major ketone body produced in the liver and provides a circulating energy source for tissue in times of fasting or following prolonged exercise. It is also a highly dynamic molecule with strong anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress properties.
The patents describe the use of engineered bacteria to both produce and deliver β -HB to the GI tract and dampen inflammation. Our clinical focus is ulcerative colitis, a chronic and debilitating disease resulting from inflammation of the colon.
CHAIN’s therapeutics are delivered orally, and the candidate molecules are secreted during bacterial cell growth in the lower GI tract impacting on both the microbiota and gut mucosa. Oral drug delivery, using a live biotherapeutic producing an anti-inflammatory compound in the gut, should provide a safe and more effective treatment and provide patients with better control over their treatment regime.
Dr Edward Green, CEO of CHAIN Biotech, said:
“We are delighted to get our first patents awarded in two key territories. Delivery of anti-inflammatory metabolites to the gut mucosa in a controlled fashion supports a new and highly effective treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. We are excited about the therapeutic potential of this innovative product to treat chronic inflammation in the lower GI and provide significant patient benefits. CHAIN’s drug development platform is novel with broad clinical applicability. These patents validate our approach paving the way for a new class of immuno-modulatory therapeutics.”
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Edward Green, Chief Executive CHAIN
T: +44 (0)775 3610798 | E: edward.green@chainbiotech.com
About CHAIN Biotech
CHAIN Biotechnology is a pre-clinical microbiome therapeutics company based at MediCity Nottingham with a head office in Marlow. CHAIN develops oral vaccines with immunomodulatory properties targeting infectious disease, inflammation and oncology.
CHAIN’s Clostridium Assisted Drug Development platform (CADDTM) technology is based on a single, but highly effective, Clostridium bacterial strain that is engineered to deliver a specific therapeutic modality, whilst also secreting metabolites that play key roles in gut and immune system homeostasis. The engineered strains produce the therapeutics in situ during growth in the lower GI tract, impacting on the systemic and mucosal immune system.
The CADDTM platform supports oral drug delivery that is targeted and controllable. In addition, our live biotherapeutics can be manufactured easily and cost-effectively and are highly stable (no cold chain logistics). The technology overcomes many of the challenges associated with drug delivery and vaccination.
For more information, please visit: https://www.chainbiotech.com
Oxford Vacmedix and CHAIN Biotech have signed Heads of Terms for a Collaboration Agreement to develop and commercialise oral vaccines targeting cancer & infectious disease
Marlow, UK – 4th January 2021 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHAIN Biotechnology (CHAIN), a UK-based microbiome therapeutics company, focused on the development of oral vaccines, announced today that Heads of Terms for a Collaboration Agreement have been signed with Oxford Vacmedix (OVM).
The collaboration builds on a successful Innovate UK funded research programme between CHAIN and the University of Oxford using OVM’s recombinant overlapping peptide (ROP) vaccines integrated into CHAIN’s CADDTM oral drug technology based on engineered bacteria. The project results show that an ROP antigen designed for human papilloma virus (HPV) was successfully administered orally in mice using the CADDTM delivery system and that it stimulated an antigen specific systemic CD4+ and CD8+ T cell response via the gut mucosa.
The Collaboration Agreement is structured for OVM and CHAIN to co-develop a specific oral therapeutic vaccine for HPV and other oral vaccines targeting infectious disease and cancer. The benefits of oral delivery are compelling for the patient, with greater acceptability and ease of use with no injection related side effects. Oral vaccines based on CADDTM do not require any cold chain logistics and are relatively simple to manufacture. This reduces cost and supports widespread distribution. Furthermore, CADDTM oral vaccines can potentially stimulate a mucosal immune response at the site of infection offering improved efficacy.
Edward Green, CEO of CHAIN Biotech, said:
“We are delighted to be able to carry on the work started with the University of Oxford using an Innovate UK grant. This Agreement is our first external development partnership to exploit our innovative CADDTM oral drug delivery platform. We are excited about the therapeutic potential of OVM’s ROP technology and look forward to working together to develop novel oral vaccines that provide significant patient benefits”
William Finch, CEO of Oxford Vacmedix, added:
“We are very pleased to have signed these Heads of Terms for the Collaboration Agreement with CHAIN. The potential for effective vaccines that can easily be taken by mouth is enormous. If successful this development programme could lead to a new generation of orally delivered vaccines in cancer and potentially also in infectious diseases”
ENDS
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Edward Green, Chief Executive CHAIN
T: +44 (0)775 3610798 | E: edward.green@chainbiotech.com
Notes to Editor:
About CHAIN Biotech
CHAIN Biotechnology is a microbiome therapeutics company based at MediCity Nottingham with a head office in Marlow. CHAIN develops oral vaccines and immuno-therapies targeting the lower gastrointestinal tract with several therapeutic candidates in pre-clinical development.
CHAIN’s Clostridium Assisted Drug Development platform (CADDTM) technology is based on a single, but highly effective, Clostridium bacterial strain that is engineered to deliver a specific therapeutic modality, whilst also secreting metabolites that play key roles in gut and immune system homeostasis. The engineered strains produce the therapeutics in situ during growth in the lower gastrointestinal tract, impacting on the systemic and mucosal immune system.
The CADDTM platform supports oral drug delivery that is targeted and controllable. In addition, our live biotherapeutics can be manufactured easily and cost-effectively and are highly stable (no cold chain logistics). The technology overcomes many of the challenges associated with drug delivery and vaccination.
For more information, please visit: https://www.chainbiotech.com
About Oxford Vacmedix
Oxford Vacmedix UK Ltd, based on the Oxford Science Park, UK, is a bio-pharma company that utilizes the novel proprietary platform technology of recombinant overlapping peptides (ROPs) invented by Dr Shisong Jiang. ROPs have been validated as a technology to stimulate broad and strong T cell immunity therefore forming a good platform for cancer therapeutic vaccines and diagnostics. The company is a spin-out of the University of Oxford and has extensive contacts and collaborations in China through Changzhou Bioscience that is using the ROP platform in both diagnostics and adoptive cell therapy.
For more information, please visit: https://www.oxfordvacmedix.com
Following a 2-month closure, CHAIN reopened its laboratories in Nottingham on the 1st June. This comes after a risk assessment and change to working practices to maintain safe working for staff in the labs and office. MediCity has also implemented new measures in the building to support safe working practices which have also contributed to CHAIN staff being able to return to work.
Over the last 6 months, CHAIN has made considerable progress on validation and demonstration of its innovative Clostridium Assisted Drug Development platform (CADD), based on the use of engineered bacteria to deliver therapeutics to the colon. The Company can now progress key projects relating to vaccine development including a 2-year Innovate UK funded project focused on enteric pathogens including human rota virus.
The lockdown and lab closure has impacted operations, especially lab work. However, this period has also been highly productive, providing time to analyse recent results and modify our plans and research strategy accordingly. CHAIN will focus its efforts on vaccine development including a new Covid-19 vaccine project and build on recent proof of concept data to develop new projects in immuno-oncology. Our CADD platform is ideally suited for oral vaccination and immuno-modulation.
Going forward, CHAIN will continue to use video conferencing to maintain communication whilst minimising travel time. We will also retain flexible working conditions.
“I have been impressed by the team-work and camaraderie that has developed over the past few weeks through the use of video conferencing. In addition, our management team and Board have done a tremendous job supporting the business through this difficult time. I expect CHAIN to rebound strongly given our highly innovative technology platform and focus on diseases that are relevant and address significant unmet clinical needs”, said Dr Edward Green (CEO).
About CHAIN Biotechnology
CHAIN Biotechnology Ltd is a UK-based microbiome therapeutic company focused on the development and commercialisation of live medicinal products, a new class of drug based on living bacteria found in the gut but engineered to deliver specific therapeutic molecules. We specialise in engineering Clostridia bacteria and our proprietary technology platform (CADDTM), based on a single bacterial species, supports multiple therapeutic products. CHAIN’s products address unmet clinical needs for diseases associated with the human gut microbiome including inflammation, infection, and cancer.
CHAIN’s technology has the potential to transform healthcare across many chronic and debilitating diseases by providing, safer and more efficacious drugs delivered orally. CHAI’N’s live medicinal products do not require any cold chain logistics and easily scaled and cost-competitive to manufacture.
CHAIN was founded in 2014, by biotech entrepreneur Dr Edward Green and has labs at MediCity Nottingham with a head office in Marlow. CHAIN has assembled a highly experienced management team and Board comprising biotech and pharma leaders plus expert scientists with skills in microbiology, engineering biology and fermentation.
An Oxford based nutritional company, TdeltaS Ltd (TΔS®), has developed and commercialised a proprietary ketone ester, which can be used as a food to improve human physical performance and cognitive function in health and disease. The Company’s product, ΔG®, is a ketone monoester that is marketed by HVMN Inc. in the USA for use in their sports drink for improved training, endurance performance and recovery following exercise.
CHAIN Biotech has engineered Clostridium bacteria to produce the chiral chemical building blocks needed to manufacture ΔG®. CHAIN’s “chiral switch” technology supports a fermentation route to the chiral biochemicals, (R)-1,3 butanediol and (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate, from renewable sugar-based feedstocks. The latter is a ‘ketone body’ produced naturally by the liver from fatty acids when fasting or through adopting a high fat ketogenic diet.
The partnership involves an 18-month project focusing on both strain and process improvements to optimise the manufacturing bioprocess and drive down the manufacturing costs of the chemical intermediates. The aim is to deliver a robust fermentation bioprocess that supports a sustainable and cost-effective route to manufacture.
“I am delighted that we are working with Professor Kieran Clarke on this innovative nutritional product. The project opens up new market opportunities for our bio-derived chiral chemicals and supports further development work on our microbiome therapeutics. CHAIN will benefit from Kieran’s world leading expertise on (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate, a highly dynamic molecule with tremendous potential in a broad range of nutritional and therapeutic applications” said Dr Edward Green, Founder and Chief Executive, CHAIN Biotechnology Ltd.
“I am very excited to be starting this project with CHAIN Biotech, a company that has considerable expertise with Clostridia bacteria and unique skills in microbiology, engineering biology and fermentation. CHAIN’s innovative and patented “chiral switch” technology supports cost-competitive production of the chiral building blocks we need to manufacture ΔG®. Both companies share a vision around the nutritional and therapeutic benefits of (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate” said Professor Kieran Clarke, Founder and Chief Executive, TΔS® Ltd.
About CHAIN Biotechnology
CHAIN is a UK microbiome therapeutics company founded by biotech entrepreneur Dr Edward Green. The team is based at MediCity, Nottingham, with a head office in Marlow. CHAIN has built a proprietary and highly differentiated drug development platform (CADD™) based on a single, but highly effective, Clostridium strain. The platform enables targeted, safe and controllable drug delivery to the colon. CHAIN’s live biotherapeutic products have significant advantages, including ease of manufacture, low cost of goods and stability of the product.
CHAIN’s unique genetic engineering capability is used to add therapeutic functionality, with a platform that supports a pipeline of therapeutic candidates addressing multiple diseases associated with the human gut microbiome. For example, CHAIN’s lead asset is a novel microbiome therapeutic based on an engineered Clostridium strain that produces and delivers (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate directly in the gut. We capitalise on the molecule’s anti-inflammatory properties targeting inflammatory bowel disease. More recently, the company has expanded its work to include vaccines and cancer therapies.
About TdeltaS (TΔS®)
TΔS® was founded in 2005 by Professor Kieran Clarke, Chair of Physiological Biochemistry at the University of Oxford. Building on research at the University, the Company was established to develop and commercialise a proprietary ketone monoester, ΔG®, which can be used as a food to improve human physical performance and cognitive function in health and disease. ΔG® is an entirely new food group offering great promise in a wide range of applications, from sports track to glycaemic control. This revolutionary nutraceutical has shown great promise in sports drinks – for training, endurance performance and recovery following exercise. By directly influencing metabolic function, this new food group increases power output and decreases physical fatigue. Human studies have been published in over 20 high-impact, peer-reviewed papers.
The synthesis and manufacture of ΔG® draws directly on pioneering research carried out at the University of Oxford and the National Institutes of Health. ΔG® is protected by a global patent and trademark portfolio. Currently, ΔG® is marketed by HVMN Inc. in the USA in a sports drink that improves training, endurance performance and recovery following exercise.
CHAIN is pleased to announce a new 18-month research collaboration with Associate Professor John Heap and his research group at the University of Nottingham.
Dr Heap is Associate Professor of Synthetic Biology in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham, where he is also part of the newly-formed Biodiscovery Institute and the Green Chemicals Beacon.
John has a background in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. His research group studies the use of natural and engineered metabolism for sustainable biomanufacturing, particularly using unconventional microorganisms with ‘exotic’ metabolic capabilities. The group’s research often involves developing and applying synthetic biology technologies to unlock the potential of these organisms, improve production of valuable chemicals, and enhance other industrially relevant properties.
John moved to the University of Nottingham from Imperial College London in 2019. At Imperial John was a Senior Lecturer in Synthetic Biology in the Department of Life Sciences and his group was based in the Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology. Prior to 2011, John undertook his PhD and first postdoctoral research position at the University of Nottingham, where he developed breakthrough genetic tools for industrially and medically important Clostridium bacteria. These include the widely used gene editing methods ACE and ClosTron.
“I am delighted that we are working with the Heap lab. John has world leading expertise engineering Clostridium and developed many of the tools that we currently use. Together, we will apply our expertise and capabilities in engineering biology to deliver new functionality to our novel microbiome therapeutic platform. Our focus initially will be on metabolite production including β-hydroxy-butyrate. This new collaboration builds on a long-standing relationship with the University of Nottingham involving collaborations with the Synthetic Biology Research Centre and the School of Medicine” said Dr Edward Green, Chief Executive, CHAIN Biotechnology Ltd.
“I am very pleased to be starting this exciting project with CHAIN Biotech. Metabolic engineering of Clostridium enabled by synthetic biology approaches is a long-standing interest of ours, so it’s great to tackle such industrially relevant challenges. CHAIN’s established platform, team and route to market make this a perfect match.’’ said Dr John Heap.
About CHAIN
CHAIN Biotechnology is a UK microbiome therapeutics company founded by biotech entrepreneur Dr Edward Green. The team is based at MediCity, Nottingham with a head office in Marlow, Bucks.
CHAIN has built a proprietary and highly differentiated drug development platform (CADD™) based on a single, but highly effective, Clostridium strain. This platform enables targeted, safe and controllable drug delivery to the colon. CHAIN’s live biotherapeutic products also offer significant advantages including ease of manufacture, low cost of goods and stability of the drug product. CHAIN’s unique genetic engineering capability is used to add therapeutic functionality and the platform supports a pipeline of therapeutic candidates addressing multiple diseases associated with the human gut microbiome. These include inflammatory bowel disease but more recently the company has expanded its work to include vaccines and cancer therapies.
About the University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a research-intensive university with a proud heritage, consistently ranked among the world’s top 100. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our 44,000 students – Nottingham was named both Sports and International University of the Year in the 2019 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, was awarded gold in the TEF 2017 and features in the top 25 of all three major UK rankings. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia – part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement. We are ranked eighth for research power in the UK according to REF 2014. We have six beacons of research excellence helping to transform lives and change the world; we are also a major employer, proud of our Athena SWAN silver award, and a key industry partner- locally and globally.
”An expansive view of design has been adopted at CHAIN Biotechnology, which is developing new therapeutics based on living microbes where the “bug is the drug.” These drugs are based on a single strain of Clostridium bacteria that is naturally found in the gut, but which has been deliberately engineered to carry a therapeutic payload, such as custom metabolites, enzymes, or peptides.”
https://www.genengnews.com/insights/synthetic-biology-seizes-new-ground-in-healthcare/
CHAIN has worked closely with the University of Nottingham since our beginning, and it is our pleasure to announce Anastasiya Buryak the winner of the CHAIN Biotechnology Award for Best Student Ambassador for Biotech and Best Academic Performance. CHAIN attended the award ceremony last week at the University’s Sutton-Bonnington Campus and we caught up with Anastasiya for a quick interview about her thoughts on biotech and her plans for the future.
What do you like about studying biotech?
What fascinates me the most about studying Biotechnology is that it allows the exploration of multiple disciplines, whether it is microbiology, nanotechnology, agriculture or pharmacology. I value that Biotechnology effectively uses biological principles to develop revolutionary technologies and products which positively impact on health, medicine, food and the environment. There are no limits to knowledge exploration and what ideas you can bring to this discipline.
Anastasiya (left) meets Emily at the Award’s Reception
What have you achieved as student ambassador for biotech last year?
Being a student ambassador for biotech is not just about presenting the Biotechnology course and university to visitors, leading a group of prospective students around campus or talking about student life. For me it is so much more: it is about demonstrating how important it is to study science and what benefits it can bring to humanity. What I enjoy the most as a student ambassador is meeting new people and share my passion, views and experiences with them. Sometimes I get a chance to meet ‘academically disoriented’ students, who have a great interest in biology and its applications but struggle to choose a particular course. And I learned to use this opportunity to help them understand what Biotechnology is about and how it revolutionised the scientific world. It is especially relevant to me, as I was at that stage whilst doing my A-levels. Similar to any student, I went through stressful and significant time choosing what I want to do in the future. Importantly whilst doing laboratory demonstrations during open days, I conveyed my enthusiasm in studying biotechnology and learned how to encourage and motivate students to study this course.
Emily (left) congratulates Anastasiya after receiving her award.
What would you like to do after graduation?
I am currently going into my third year of Biotechnology at the University of Nottingham and my career plan is to contribute to the healthcare industry. I have an interest in the pharmaceutical industry, in particular working on the development of novel drugs and cosmetics products, which will significantly advance public health, improve patient care and benefit customer needs. Among the main principles, I live my life by is “Be useful for this world! Target your energy on making this world a healthier and safer place”. Therefore after graduation, I see myself working in a company with a scientific environment among talented individuals. I hope to meet with various every day challenges whilst generating extraordinary and influential ideas, which have the potential to make life better. Constant learning and collaborating with others is what, I believe, will help me and others to achieve a valuable and unique contribution to improving human health.
Oxford, UK – 2nd July 2019
Oxford Vacmedix UK Limited (OVM), the UK-based biopharma company focused on the development of cancer vaccines, announced today the award of an Innovate UK grant to CHAIN Biotechnology Ltd (CHAIN) and the University of Oxford to develop live biotherapeutics that support oral delivery for OVM’s recombinant overlapping peptide (ROP) cancer vaccines. The research will use CHAIN’s proprietary microbiome technology and the world-class research facilities in the University’s department of Oncology.
The project will initially focus on OVM-100 in a research project titled “Mucosal delivery of Clostridium spores encoding recombinant overlapping peptides (ROPs) of HPV antigen as therapeutic vaccines for cervical cancer”. This will bring together University of Oxford’s expertise and CHAIN’s innovative microbial delivery platform to establish the effectiveness of delivering ROPs to the colon for the treatment of cervical cancer.
Spun out from the University of Oxford, OVM holds an exclusive licence for the ROP technology. The technology uses the novel, proprietary platform of ROPs to design and develop therapeutic cancer vaccines and diagnostics with the potential for increased efficacy, lower costs, simpler regulatory pathways and synergy when used in combination with other immune-oncology agents. OVM is developing two cancer vaccines, OVM-100 and OVM-200, focusing on unmet clinical need. OVM-100 is an HPV vaccine targeted at cervical cancer. OVM-200 represents a new type of vaccine utilising survivin, a protein inhibitor of apoptosis, to target solid tumours.
Dr Shisong Jiang, Principal Investigator in the Department of Oncology and Founder of OVM, said:
“We are delighted to have this opportunity to work with CHAIN on this exciting project. The importance of effective and controlled delivery is key to the development of new cancer vaccine and we are very pleased to have support and funding from Innovate UK for this work on our immunotherapy cancer vaccines.”
Dr Edward Green, Chief Executive and Founder of CHAIN added:
“This project provides a further opportunity to exemplify our Clostridium-Assisted Drug Development (CADDTM) platform for targeted gut delivery of therapeutic peptides. We look forward to a successful collaboration with OVM and to establishing a combination approach that simplifies and accelerates the development of oral cancer vaccines providing significant patient benefits.”
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
William Finch, CEO, Oxford Vacmedix
T: +44 (0) 1865 742087 | M: +44(0)7769 903711 | E: wfinch@oxfordvacmedix.com
https://www.oxfordvacmedix.com
About Oxford Vacmedix
Oxford Vacmedix UK Ltd, based on the Oxford Science Park, UK, is a bio-pharma company that utilizes the novel proprietary platform technology of recombinant overlapping peptides (ROPs) invented by Dr Shisong Jiang. ROPs have been validated as a technology to stimulate broad and strong T cell immunity therefore forming a good platform for cancer therapeutic vaccines and diagnostics. The company is a spin-out of the University of Oxford and has extensive contacts and collaborations in China through Changzhou Bioscience that is using the ROP platform in both diagnostics and adoptive cell therapy.
For more information, please visit: www.oxfordvacmedix.com/
About CHAIN Biotech
CHAIN Biotechnology Ltd is a UK-based microbiome therapeutic company focused on the development and commercialisation of live biotherapeutic products (LBPs). LBPs are a new class of drug based on living bacteria found in the gut but engineered to deliver specific therapeutic molecules. We specialise in engineering Clostridia bacteria and our proprietary technology platform (CADDTM), based on a single bacterial species, supports multiple therapeutic products. CHAIN’s products address unmet clinical needs for safer, more effective and lower cost drugs. Treatments for diseases associated with the human gut microbiome have the potential to transform healthcare across many chronic and debilitating diseases. CHAIN was founded in 2014, by biotech entrepreneur Dr Edward Green and has labs at MediCity Nottingham with a head office in Marlow. CHAIN has assembled a highly experienced management team and Board comprising biotech and pharma leaders plus expert scientists with skills in microbiology, engineering biology and fermentation.
For more information, please visit: https://chainbiotech.com
CHAIN’s drug delivery platform and lead product, β-hydroxybutyrate, is highlighted in a new report ‘Catalysing Investment and Growth’, released by the BioIndustry Association this week. Our microbiome therapeutics are based on spores of Clostridium bacterial species. We have successfully demonstrated scale-up of bacterial spore production with our partners at Porton Biopharma Ltd as part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, through a grant awarded by Innovate UK. The project also investigated the feasibility of developing a production facility with another UK company, Scitech Engineering Ltd.
The report explains how investment and growth is driven by the UK life sciences sector and emphasises the need for further public investment in the sector. The report aims to inform the Government, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and other policymakers as they prepare for the upcoming Spending Review and develop an R&D roadmap to reach the target of raising R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. The full report can be found here.
MARLOW & NOTTINGHAM, UK. — April 8, 2019 – UK microbiome therapeutics company CHAIN Biotechnology has appointed two new non-executive directors, Dr Nel Moore and Dr Robert Haigh to the Board.
Dr Nel Moore has considerable experience in drug development with a track record taking therapeutics to market as former Global Product Vice President at AstraZeneca. Dr Moore led the development, submission and approval of ZaviceftaTM, a combination drug of the antibiotic cephalosporin and a β-lacatamase inhibitor, for the treatment of multidrug resistant bacterial infections. She went on to build up and lead the antibiotics development organisation as part of a semi-autonomous antibiotics business unit within AstraZeneca. Dr Moore has a PhD in Medical Biochemistry from Birmingham University and currently chairs the CARB-X milestone review board.
Dr Robert Haigh has many years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry at management level. Dr Haigh served as COO of Oxford spin-out Neuro-Bio Ltd prior to joining CHAIN and co-founded KalVista Pharmaceuticals in 2011. Dr Haigh began his career with Boehringer Ingelheim before moving through senior management roles within Ferring Pharmaceuticals finishing as CEO of their R&D site in the UK and Board Director of the US R&D site. Dr Haigh then led the spinout of Ferring’s small molecule assets to become founder and CSO of Vantia Ltd, before founding KalVista Pharmaceuticals where he served as COO.
CHAIN Chief Executive Dr Edward Green commented,
“We are delighted that Nel and Robert have joined the team. They both have considerable expertise and experience in drug development and commercialisation that will support our plans to advance our lead drug candidate into the clinic. The drug is a live biotherapeutic product producing a potent anti-inflammatory metabolite in the large intestine and designed to treat ulcerative colitis.”
Dr Nel Moore
Dr Robert Haigh
About CHAIN:
CHAIN Biotechnology is a UK microbiome therapeutics company focused on the development and commercialisation of novel microbial technology for the production and delivery of biotherapeutics to the gut. The company’s microbial technology has the potential to be highly disruptive both in terms of cost but also efficacy for the treatment and prevention of chronic and debilitating gut related diseases. CHAIN was founded in 2014 by serial entrepreneur Dr Edward Green. The Company has bases in Marlow (Head office) and MediCity Nottingham (Research Lab).
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