Prof Chris McGuigan - BSc PhD
Innovative Partnerships Recognised
2008 Innovation Prize winners (From left to right) Geoffrey Henson, Inhibitex Inc, Professor Ken Woodhouse, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Engagement, Ceri Delemore, Geldards LLP and Professor Chris McGuigan, Welsh School of Pharmacy
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The Cardiff University Innovation Prize for 2008 was awarded to the Professor Chris McGuigan and American-based pharmaceutical company Inhibitex Inc for their work in developing and trialling a new treatment for the debilitating condition shingles caused by the Varicella Zoster virus.
Watch footage of 2008 Innovation Prize for business collaboration
see also - FV100 - the story
Antiviral ProTides
Nucleoside analogues dominate current antivirals. In the UK 17 of the 34 antiviral drugs on the market are nucleoside-base They all need phosphorylation to generate active forms in the cell, and this can be a slow and inefficient process. The free phosphate forms cannot be used in therapy due to their charge, which prevents cell entry. We have devised a pro-drug method, "ProTides" which allows delivery of the pre-formed active phosphate form into living cells, by masking the charge on the phosphate. Here is a typical synthesis of these agents:
And here is an example of the dramatic increase in potency this ProTide method can bring:
