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Acuitas Therapeutics Founders Pieter Cullis, Michael Hope and Thomas Madden Receive Governor General's Innovation Award
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Vancouver, BC, September 1, 2022--(T-Net)--The founders of Acuitas Therapeutics, Drs. Pieter Cullis, Michael Hope and Thomas Madden, have been named as Governor General's Innovation Award recipients.
This prestigious award is for their work in developing lipid nanoparticle (LNP) systems to deliver cancer drugs to tumours and to enable RNA- and DNA-based drugs to be used therapeutically.
Among other achievements, their work has resulted in the LNP system that enables COMRINATY, the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.
The Governor General's Innovation Awards are given to individuals, teams and/or organizations whose innovations are:
According to their website (www.innovation.gg.ca ), the Governor General's Innovation Awards "are not intended for lifetime achievement or innovations that have not yet demonstrated impact. Rather, by recognizing active, current innovators across the breadth of our economy and society the Awards help foster an active culture that celebrates innovation that is having a meaningful impact on our lives."
Dr. Thomas Madden, who is also the President & CEO of Acuitas Therapeutics said: "It is an honour to receive this award with Drs. Pieter Cullis and Michael Hope. The three of us have been friends and colleagues for more than 40 years, and it is truly exceptional to receive this award for the work we have done together over all of those decades."
He added: "What I think is truly great about this award is that it calls on us to keep innovating; to continue to contribute to the advancement of human health. It encourages us to go forward - and we are doing just that."
Additional Background
The team was formed in the early 1980's in the UBC laboratory of Dr. Cullis and first invented a device to make lipid nanoparticles. This resulted in formation of Lipex Biomembranes to distribute this instrument worldwide.
Subsequently they invented methods for loading anticancer drugs into LNP and formed Inex Pharmaceuticals, resulting in three LNP drugs that have received regulatory approval to treat cancer and its complications.
In 2009 the team founded Acuitas Therapeutics to develop LNP formulations of nucleic acid therapeutics such as small interfering RNA (siRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA) for therapeutic and vaccine applications.
Acuitas has established partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and academic institutes to advance nucleic acid therapeutics into clinical trials and to the marketplace.
Acuitas has agreements with several partners to use its proprietary lipid nanotechnology in the development of COVID-19 vaccines. These include Pfizer/BioNTech for COMIRNATY®, which has received full approval in the U.S. and Canada and is authorized for Emergency Use in Europe, the UK and many other countries.
About Acuitas Therapeutics
Founded in February 2009, Vancouver-based Acuitas Therapeutics (www.acuitastx.com ) is a private biotechnology company that specializes in the development of delivery systems for nucleic acid therapeutics based on lipid nanoparticles. The company partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and academic institutes to advance nucleic acid therapeutics into clinical trials and to the marketplace.
The team works with partners to develop new therapies to address unmet clinical needs based on its internationally recognized capabilities in delivery technology. Acuitas Therapeutics has agreements in place with several partners to use its proprietary lipid nanotechnology in the development of COVID-19 vaccines. These include Pfizer/BioNTech for COMIRNATY®, which has received full approval in the U.S. and Canada and is authorized for Emergency Use in Europe, the UK and many other countries.
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