Astex’s Harren Jhoti Made Fellow of the Royal Society

/in ,

Astex Pharmaceuticals (“Astex”), a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics for oncology and diseases of the central nervous system, announced today that Harren Jhoti Ph.D., co-founder of Astex and President and CEO of Astex Pharmaceuticals (UK) has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his outstanding contribution to drug discovery research and science in general.

Election to the Fellowship of the Royal Society is the highest accolade in UK science and recognises individuals for their scientific excellence and substantial contributions to research endeavours. At Astex Dr. Jhoti pioneered the development of fragment-based drug discovery, an approach now widely used in pharmaceutical and academic drug discovery centres worldwide.

Astex is one of the UK’s leading biotech companies, employing some 130 staff at its research headquarters in Cambridge UK and over 200 worldwide, and has been highly successful in translating research into new medicines. Notably this includes Kisqali®, a drug co-discovered by Astex under a partnership with Novartis that received marketing approval in the USA and in Europe as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer in 2017.

Dr. Jhoti commented, “I’m delighted and humbled to have been made a Fellow of the Royal Society.  I would like to thank all my scientific colleagues, past and present, who have supported me in my research career. This Fellowship is also a reflection of the excellence of science at Astex created by its many highly talented researchers.”

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

About Astex Pharmaceuticals

Harren Jhoti co-founded Astex in 1999 and was Chief Scientific Officer until November 2007 when he was appointed Chief Executive Officer.  He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2018, the Royal Society of Biology in 2017, the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2016, and of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2015.  In January 2018 he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA).  He received the Prous Institute-Overton and Meyer Award for New Technologies in Drug Discovery from the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry in 2012 and was also named by the Royal Society of Chemistry as “Chemistry World Entrepreneur of the Year” for 2007.

He has published widely including in leading journals such as Nature and Science, and has also been featured in TIME magazine after being named by the World Economic Forum a Technology Pioneer in 2005.  He has served on the board of the BIA, the UK BioIndustry Association and currently consults for life science venture capital firms. Before founding Astex in 1999, he was head of Structural Biology and Bioinformatics at GlaxoWellcome in the United Kingdom (1991-1999). Prior to Glaxo, Dr. Jhoti was a post-doctoral scientist at Oxford University. He received a B.Sc. (Hons) in Biochemistry in 1985 and a Ph.D. in Protein Crystallography from the University of London in 1989.

More information on the Royal Society can be found here: https://royalsociety.org/

About Astex Pharmaceuticals

Astex is a leader in innovative drug discovery and development, committed to the fight against cancer and diseases of the central nervous system.  Astex is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapies and has a number of partnered products being developed under collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies.  Astex is a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan; a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: “Otsuka – people creating new products for better health worldwide.”  Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative and original products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diseases and nutraceutical products for the maintenance of everyday health.

For more information about Astex Pharmaceuticals, please visit https://stagin.astx.co.uk

For more information about Otsuka Pharmaceutical, please visit http://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/

At the Company

Jeremy Carmichael
VP Corporate Development
Head of Business Development
Astex Pharmaceuticals
436 Cambridge Science Park
Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 0QA, UK

Tel: +44(0)1223 226289
Mobile: +44 (0)7786 738066
Email: jeremy.carmichael@astx.com

 

Astex Continues to Deliver in Oncology as Erdafitinib, a Potential New Treatment for Metastatic Urothelial Cancer, Receives US FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation

/in ,

Astex Pharmaceuticals (“Astex”), a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics for oncology and diseases of the central nervous system, announced today that its pharmaceutical collaborator, Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. (Janssen), has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the US FDA for erdafitinib in the treatment of metastatic urothelial cancer.

Erdafitinib was discovered by Astex and Janssen as part of a 2008 exclusive worldwide collaboration and licence agreement to identify novel, small molecule inhibitors of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor (FGFR) kinase, including for the treatment of cancer.  Janssen is responsible for the clinical development and commercialisation of all products arising from this collaboration.

The FGFR inhibitor programme between Astex and Janssen underlines the UK strengths in academic-biotech collaboration as it originated from pioneering work on FGFR between Astex and the Cancer Research UK Drug Discovery Group at the Newcastle Cancer Centre, Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University, UK.

Urothelial cancer, particularly of the bladder, is the sixth most common type of cancer in the USA.  Breakthrough Therapy Designation allows for the expedited development and regulatory review of erdafitinib as a potential new treatment option for patients with metastatic disease.  It was granted based on positive data from a multicenter, open-label Phase 2 clinical trial.

Harren Jhoti Ph.D., President and CEO of Astex, UK, said, “This is a great endorsement of our scientific approach and our team.  Astex is committed to the fight against cancer and so is delighted that erdafitinib has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the US FDA.  Congratulations to our valued collaborators at Janssen for their excellent work in advancing erdafitinib to this exciting stage in its development.”

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

About Astex Pharmaceuticals

Astex is a leader in innovative drug discovery and development, committed to the fight against cancer and diseases of the central nervous system.  Astex is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapies and has a number of partnered products being developed under collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies.  In October 2013 Astex became a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.  Otsuka Pharmaceutical is a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: “Otsuka – people creating new products for better health worldwide.”  Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative and original products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diseases and nutraceutical products for the maintenance of everyday health.

For more information about Astex Pharmaceuticals, please visit https://stagin.astx.co.uk

For more information about Otsuka Pharmaceutical, please visit http://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/

At the Company

Jeremy Carmichael
VP Corporate Development
Head of Business Development
Astex Pharmaceuticals
436 Cambridge Science Park
Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 0QA, UK

Tel: +44(0)1223 226289
Mobile: +44 (0)7786 738066
Email: jeremy.carmichael@astx.com

Harren Jhoti Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from the UK BioIndustry Association

/in ,

Astex Pharmaceuticals (“Astex”), a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics for oncology and diseases of the central nervous system, announced today that Harren Jhoti Ph.D., co-founder of Astex and President and CEO of Astex Pharmaceuticals (UK) has been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA).

The Award was presented to Dr. Jhoti by BIA Chair, Dr. Jane Osbourn, at the BIA Gala Dinner, the BIA’s annual flagship event, which was held last night at The Brewery, in central London.

The BIA Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest accolade awarded by the BIA, recognises outstanding contribution to the life sciences sector in the UK.  The award is made in recognition of Dr. Jhoti’s scientific contributions to the UK life science sector, his entrepreneurial approach and his commitment to scaling and supporting UK biotech.

Dr. Jhoti has steered Astex to become one of the UK’s most successful biotech companies. Employing some 130 staff at its research headquarters in Cambridge UK and over 200 worldwide, including at its clinical development and regulatory headquarters in Pleasanton, California, USA, Astex is today an independent wholly-owned subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, with a focus on cancer and diseases of the central nervous system.

The Company has applied its leading fragment-based discovery platform and other technologies to the development of an internal pipeline of proprietary novel therapies and several partnered products are being developed under collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies.  2017 was a pivotal year for the company with Kisqali® (ribociclib, formerly known as LEE011), a drug co-discovered under a partnership with Novartis receiving marketing approval in the USA and Europe as a treatment for advanced (metastatic) breast cancer.

On receiving the Award last night Dr. Jhoti commented, “As scientists we always hope that our discoveries will make a difference and as entrepreneurs we strive to build sustainable companies to translate those discoveries into significant new medicines for patients.  At Astex we have been lucky enough to achieve both of these goals due largely to our highly talented team.  These achievements have been made possible  by playing an active part in the life sciences community in Cambridge and the UK, and I’m delighted and humbled to have received this award from the BIA.

Jane Osbourn, BIA Chairman, said: “Harren’s contribution to the UK biotech sector recognises his combination of scientific and leadership skills, as well as his passion and determination to succeed. He has risen to the challenges of driving innovation, developing productive partnerships, raising investment capital and motivating a team.  He makes an active contribution to initiatives in the UK biotech sector and provides a role-model for today’s entrepreneurs.”

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

Harren Jhoti co-founded Astex in 1999 and was Chief Scientific Officer until November 2007 when he was appointed Chief Executive Officer.  He also served as President and member of the Board of Directors of Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc., following the merger of Astex with SuperGen Inc., (subsequently renamed Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc.) in July 2011.

Dr. Jhoti was elected a Fellow of Royal Society of Biology in 2017, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2016, and of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2015.  He was awarded the Prous Institute-Overton and Meyer Award for New Technologies in Drug Discovery by the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry in 2012 and was also named by the Royal Society of Chemistry as “Chemistry World Entrepreneur of the Year” for 2007.

He has published widely including in leading journals such as Nature and Science and has also been featured in TIME magazine having been named by the World Economic Forum a Technology Pioneer in 2005.  He has served on the board of the BIA, the UK BioIndustry Association and currently consults for life science venture capital firms.  Before founding Astex in 1999, he was head of Structural Biology and Bioinformatics at GlaxoWellcome in the United Kingdom (1991-1999).  Prior to Glaxo, Dr. Jhoti was a post-doctoral scientist at Oxford University.  He received a B.Sc. (Hons) in Biochemistry in 1985 and a Ph.D. in Protein Crystallography from the University of London in 1989.

About Astex Pharmaceuticals

Astex is a leader in innovative drug discovery and development, committed to the fight against cancer and diseases of the central nervous system.  Astex is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapies and has a number of partnered products being developed under collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies.  Astex is a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan; a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: “Otsuka – people creating new products for better health worldwide.”  Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative and original products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diseases and nutraceutical products for the maintenance of everyday health.

For more information about Astex Pharmaceuticals, please visit https://stagin.astx.co.uk

For more information about Otsuka Pharmaceutical, please visit http://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/

At the Company

Jeremy Carmichael
VP Corporate Development
Head of Business Development
Astex Pharmaceuticals
436 Cambridge Science Park
Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 0QA, UK

Tel: +44(0)1223 226289
Mobile: +44 (0)7786 738066
Email: jeremy.carmichael@astx.com

Otsuka Signs Statement of Support for Women’s Empowerment Principles

/in ,

January　19, 2018

Otsuka Signs Statement of Support for Women’s Empowerment Principles

Astex Pharmaceuticals (“Astex”), an indirect subsidiary of Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd., announces that the latter has signed the CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a set of Principles focusing on corporate action to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. The WEPs are the result of collaboration between the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) 1 and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).2

Under the corporate philosophy of “Otsuka-people creating new products for better health worldwide,” the Otsuka group of companies is a total health care group active on the global stage. Convinced that maximizing the talents of a diverse group of individuals becomes the driving force for growth, Otsuka promotes diversity across the group companies, including proactively encouraging the participation and advancement of women in the workplace. The signing of the CEO Statement of Support for the WEPs is an opportunity to reinforce efforts to ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs)
The Women’s Empowerment Principles are a set of voluntary principles offering guidance for corporate practices to promote equality and women’s empowerment, launched in 2010 as the result of collaboration between the UNGC and UN Women. By signing the CEO Statement of Support for the WEPs, a company demonstrates its dedication to contributing to workplace, marketplace and community environments that encourage advancement and empowerment of women. The seven Women’s Empowerment Principles are listed below.3
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
1. Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality
2. Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination
3. Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers
4. Promote education, training and professional development for women
5. Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women
6. Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy
7. Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality

About Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd.
Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd. is the holding company for the Otsuka group of companies, a global healthcare group headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. With operations in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, medical devices and other health-related businesses, the group generated worldwide sales of approximately USD 10.2 billion in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.
The Otsuka group of companies conducts research, development, manufacturing and marketing of innovative products that are uniquely positioned to provide advanced therapy, improve quality of life and support a healthy lifestyle. Additional information can be obtained at https://www.otsuka.com/en/

About Astex Pharmaceuticals
Astex is a leader in innovative drug discovery and development, committed to the fight against cancer and diseases of the central nervous system. Astex is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapies and has a number of partnered products being developed under collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies. Astex is a member of the Otsuka Group, based in Japan. Otsuka is a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: “Otsuka–people creating new products for better health worldwide.” Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative and original products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diseases and nutraceutical products for the maintenance of everyday health.

For more information about Astex Pharmaceuticals, please visit https://stagin.astx.co.uk
For more information about Otsuka Pharmaceutical, please visit http://www.otsuka.com/en/

References:
1. The UNGC is a voluntary initiative encouraging participation in a worldwide, principle-based framework, aiming to promote sustainability through creative leadership and responsible corporate citizenship. Otsuka Holdings became a signatory to the UNGC in 2016.
2. UN Women is a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women. It was established in 2010 through the merger of the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI), and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
3. Women’s Empowerment Principles: http://www.weprinciples.org/