Chiroscience
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Andrew Richards
- Peter Keen
- Chris Evans
 | |
| Formerly | Chiros |
|---|---|
| formerly on the London Stock Exchange | |
| Founded | 1991[1] |
| Founder |
|
| Defunct | 1999 |
| Fate | Acquired by Celltech |
Key people | John Padfield CEO, 1996[2] |
Chiroscience Group Plc was a British-based biotech company, founded by Christopher Evans. The company was taken over by Celltech in 1999,[3] which was acquired in 2004 by UCB.
Chiroscience was born from the demise of the company Enzymatix, which was ultimately acquired by Genzyme,[4] when Andrew Richards joined the company and convinced Evans and Peter Keen to launch Chiros, name of which was quickly revised to Chrioscience.[3] Seed funding for the company of £3 million was provided by Schroder Ventures, Apax and 3i.[3] Chiroscience became one of the first biotechnology Initial Public Offerings in the United Kingdom in 1994.[3]
In 1996, the company merged with the American biotech company Darwin Molecular Corporation, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, retaining Chiroscience as its name.[2]
By the time of its merger with Celltech in 1999,[5] both Chris Evans and Peter Keen had left the company, leaving Andrew Richards as the sole remaining founder and original board member.[3]
See also
- Chirocaine, an anesthetic developed by Chiroscience[6][7]
- Romosozumab, discovered by Chiroscience before its acquisition by Celltech[3]
- Pharmaceutical industry in the United Kingdom
