Pieter Cullis Explained

Pieter R. Cullis
Nationality:Canadian
Education:University of British Columbia (BSc, Physics, 1964-1967)University of British Columbia (PhD, Physics, 1967-1972)University of Oxford (Postdoc, Biochemistry, 1973-1976)Utrecht University (Postdoc, Biochemistry, 1977)
Thesis Title:Electron paramagnetic resonance of phosphorus doped silicon in the intermediate impurity concentration range
Thesis Url:https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0084819
Thesis Year:1972
Doctoral Advisor:J.R. Marko
Known For:Lipid nanoparticles
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Pieter Rutter Cullis is a Canadian physicist and biochemist known for his contributions to the field of lipid nanoparticles (LNP).[1] Cullis and co-workers have been responsible for fundamental advances in the development of nanomedicines employing lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology for cancer therapies, gene therapies and vaccines. This work has contributed to five drugs that have received clinical approval by the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA), the European Medicines Agency, and Health Canada.

Cullis has also co-founded eleven biotechnology companies that now employ over 400 people, has published over 400 scientific articles (h-index 138) and is an inventor on over 100 patents. Companies he has co-founded include Acuitas Therapeutics, Integrated Nanotherapeutics, Precision NanoSystems, and NanoVation Therapeutics. He has also co-founded and has been the Founding Scientific Director of two National Centre of Excellence networks: the Centre for Drug Research and Development (now AdMare) in 2004 and the NanoMedicines Innovation Network in 2019. These not-for-profit networks are aimed at translating basic research in the life sciences into commercially viable products.

Two recently approved drugs that are enabled by LNP delivery systems devised by Cullis, members of his UBC laboratory, and colleagues in the companies he has co-founded deserve special emphasis. The first is Onpattro which was approved by the US FDA in August 2018 to treat the previously fatal hereditary condition transthyretin-induced amyloidosis (hATTR). Onpattro is the first RNAi drug to receive regulatory approval. The second is Comirnaty, the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech that has received regulatory approval in many jurisdictions including Canada, the USA, the UK and Europe. Comirnaty has played a major role in containing the global COVID-19 pandemic with approximately 6B doses administered worldwide in 2021 and 2022.

Research Interests

Cullis's research interests concern the roles of lipids in biological membranes and the development of nanomedicines using lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology. His studies on the roles of lipids focus on two areas. The first concerns the ability of membrane lipids to adopt non-bilayer structures and the roles of such structures in processes such as membrane fusion. The second area focuses on transport across bilayer lipid systems induced by trans-bilayer ion gradients. His interests in nanomedicines first concern the design and synthesis of LNP delivery systems containing small molecule drugs, particularly drugs used in cancer chemotherapy, with the aim of increasing potency and reducing toxicity by enhancing drug delivery to, and release at, sites of disease such as tumours. A second area involves using LNP technology to enable the therapeutic use of macromolecular genetic drugs such as small interfering RNA (siRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA) for gene therapy, including gene editing. These efforts have led to five nanomedicines that have been approved for clinical use by regulatory agencies such as the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA), the European Medicines Agency and Health Canada (see Table below).

Two of these nanomedicines were recently approved and are of particular note. First is the drug Onpattro, a gene therapy that was approved (August 2018) by the FDA to treat hereditary amyloid transthyretin (hATTR) amyloidosis. Onpattro is the first-in-class RNAi-based drug to be approved by the FDA and employs an LNP delivery system developed in collaboration with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (Boston), his laboratory at UBC and two spin-offs that he co-founded (Protiva/Arbutus and Acuitas Therapeutics). Onpattro delivers an siRNA to silence the TTR gene in the liver. A remarkable feature of Onpattro is that it is able to not only stop further progression of this hitherto untreatable disease (which usually leads to death within five years of diagnosis), but also to reverse the neuropathies and cardiovascular issues associated with hATTR. The second class of medicines are the mRNA Covid 19 vaccines that Acuitas developed with Pfizer/BioNTech and CureVac. The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 relies on an LNP delivery system developed by Acuitas. BNT162b2 (Comirnaty) was approved for emergency use[2] (December 2020) by the US FDA and has subsequently been approved by the US,[3] UK, Canada, Europe and many other countries worldwide. These approvals were made on the basis of a 95% efficacy in preventing COVID-19, together with an excellent safety profile. More than five billion doses of this vaccine were administered globally in 2021-22 and the vaccine has been credited with saving over six million lives in 2021 alone.[4]

Nanomedicine Drugs

The following approved nanomedicine drugs have been co-developed by Cullis's laboratory at the University of British Columbia and by the companies he has co-founded (Inex Pharmaceuticals Corp, Protiva Biotherapeutics, Canadian Liposome Company, Acuitas Therapeutics).

Nanomedicine Drug
Trade NameIndicationStatus (2020)Company
LNP AmphotericinAbelcetFungal infections Approved US, Europe - 1995Enzon/Canadian Lipo Co
LNP DoxorubicinMyocetMetastatic breast cancerApproved Europe, Canada - 2000Cephalon/Canadian Lipo Co
LNP VincristineMarqiboAcute lymphoblastic leukemiaApproved US - 2012Spectrum Pharma/Inex
LNP siRNA TTROnpattroTransthyretin-induced amyloidosisApproved US, Europe - 2018Alnylam/Acuitas
LNP mRNA SARS Cov 2ComirnatyCOVID-19 mRNA vaccineApproved US, Europe - 2021Pfizer/BioNTech/Acuitas

Research and Professional Experience

Institution/Company
Title
UBC, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular BiologyAssistant Professor (1978); Associate Professor (1982); Professor (1985-present)
Lipex Biomembranes (now Evonik Canada)Co-Founder (1985); Chairman (1985 -2000)
Canadian Liposome CompanyCo-Founder (1986); Director & President (1986-1991)
Northern Lipids (now Evonik Canada)Co-Founder (1992); Director (1992-1996)
Inex Pharmaceuticals Corp (now GeneVant)Co-Founder (1992); Director (1992-2007); VP Research (1992-2004)
Protiva Biotherapeutics (now Arbutus)Co-founder (2001); Director & Chair, SAB (2001-2005)
Centre Drug Research & Development (now AdMare)Co-founder (2004); Scientific Director (2004-2010)
Acuitas TherapeuticsCo-Founder (2009); Chairman (2009-2021)
Precision NanoSystemsCo-Founder (2010); Chairman (2010-2015)
Personalized Medicine InitiativeCo-Founder (2011); Chairman (2011-2017)
Life Sciences Institute, UBCDirector (2013-2017)
GenXys Health Care SystemsCo-Founder (2014); Director (2014-2016)
MesentechCo-Founder (2014); Director (2014-2019)
Molecular You CorporationCo-Founder (2014); Chairman (2014-present)
AllerGen National Centre of ExcellenceDirector (2014-present); Chairman (2017-present)
Integrated NanoTherapeuticsCo-Founder (2015); Chairman (2015-2021)
NanoMedicines Innovation Network NCEFounder (2019); Scientific Director & CEO (2019-2021)
NanoVation TherapeuticsCo-Founder (2020); Chairman (2020-present)

Academic and Professional Awards

!Start!End!Name of Award!Agency
19731976MRC Postdoctoral FellowshipCanadian Medical Research Council
19771977EMBO Postdoctoral FellowshipEuropean Molecular Biology Organization
19781982MRC ScholarMedical Research Council of Canada
19831989MRC ScientistMedical Research Council of Canada
1986Ayerst AwardCanadian Biochemical Society
19881989UBC Killam Research PrizeUniversity of British Columbia
1988Jacob Bierly Research PrizeUniversity of British Columbia
1991Gold Medal for Health SciencesBC Science Council
2000Alec Bangham AwardInternational Liposome Society
2002Award for Innovation and AchievementBC Biotechnology Alliance
2004Fellow of the Royal Society of CanadaRoyal Society of Canada
2005Barre AwardUniversity of Montreal
2005UBC Alumni Award for Research, Science & Medicine[5] University of British Columbia
2010CSPS Leadership AwardCanadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences
2011Bill and Marilyn Webber Lifetime Achievement Award[6] University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
2011Prix Galien Canada Research Award[7] Prix Galien Canada
2012Senior Faculty Award-Outstanding ContributionsUniversity of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
2015Milton Wong Leadership AwardLife Science BC
2016Lifetime Achievement AwardJournal of Drug Targeting
2018Fellow National Academy of InventorsNational Academy of Inventors, USA
2021Founder’s Award[8] Controlled Release Society, USA
2021Prince Mahidol Award (Medicine)[9] Prince Mahidol Award Foundation, Thailand
2021Officer, Order of Canada[10] Governor General of Canada
2022VinFuture Prize, Grand Prize[11] VinFuture Foundation, Vietnam
2022Canada Gairdner International Award[12] Gairdner Foundation, Canada
2022Lipid Science Prize[13] Camurus Foundation, Sweden
2022Thudichum Life Award[14] Phospholipid Research Centre, Germany
2022UBC Alumni Award of DistinctionUniversity of British Columbia
2022Tang Prize (Biopharmaceutical Science)[15] Tang Foundation, Taiwan
2022Governor General’s Innovation Award[16] Rideau Hall Foundation, Canada
2022Global Impact Award[17] Life Sciences BC
2022Bloom Burton Award[18] Bloom Burton & Co.
2023Julia Levy Award[19] Society for Chemical Industry
2023Doctorate Honoris CausaGhent University, Belgium
2023Killam Prize[20] Killam Foundation, National Research Council, Canada
2023Fellow of the Royal Society[21] Royal Society, London
2023Sultan Karim Medal of Excellence in Clinical Pharmacology[22] University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
2023Member, Order of British Columbia[23] Governor General of BC
2023Member, Canadian Medical Hall of Fame[24] Canadian Medical Hall of Fame
2023Harvey Prize (awarded for the year 2021)[25] Technion, Israel
2023Bill and Marilyn Webber Lifetime Achievement Award[26] University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
2024Maurice-Marie Janot Award[27] Association de Pharmacie Galénique Industrielle, France

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Meet the Canadian scientist who paved the way for groundbreaking mRNA COVID vaccines | CBC Radio . 2021-12-09.
  2. Web site: Commissioner . Office of the . December 14, 2020 . FDA Takes Key Action in Fight Against COVID-19 By Issuing Emergency Use Authorization for First COVID-19 Vaccine . 2024-04-23 . FDA . en.
  3. Web site: Commissioner . Office of the . August 23, 2021 . FDA Approves First COVID-19 Vaccine . 2024-04-23 . FDA . en.
  4. News: Which covid-19 vaccine saved the most lives in 2021? . 2024-04-23 . The Economist . 0013-0613.
  5. Web site: Alumni Achievement Awards Past Recipients . 2024-04-22 . alumni UBC . en-US.
  6. Web site: 2011-04-14 . 2011 Faculty of Medicine awards . 2024-04-22 . UBC News . en-US.
  7. Web site: The Prix Galien Canada – Product Innovation Award . 2024-04-22 . Innovative Medicines Canada . en-US.
  8. Web site: 2021 Awards Announced Controlled Release Society (CRS) . 2024-04-22 . www.controlledreleasesociety.org.
  9. Web site: 2021-11-15 . Professor Pieter Cullis . 2024-04-22 . Prince Mahidol Award Foundation . en-US.
  10. Web site: General . Office of the Secretary to the Governor . 2021-12-20 . Governor General announces 135 appointments to the Order of Canada . 2024-04-22 . The Governor General of Canada.
  11. Web site: Professor Pieter R. Cullis . 2024-04-22 . VinFuture Prize . en-US.
  12. Web site: Foundation . The Gairdner . 2023-06-01 . Pieter Cullis - Gairdner Foundation Award Winner . 2024-04-22 . The Gairdner Foundation . en.
  13. Web site: CLRF Lipid Science Prize 2021/2022 – Camurus Lipid Research Foundation . 2024-04-22 . sv-SE.
  14. Web site: The Thudichum Award . 2024-04-22 . Phospholipid Research Center.
  15. Web site: Tang Prize Media 2022 Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science Honors Three Scientists for Developing COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines . 2024-04-22 . www.tang-prize.org . en.
  16. Web site: 2022 Archives . 2024-04-22 . Governor General’s Innovation Awards . en-US.
  17. Web site: 24th Annual Life Sciences BC Awards presented by Farris . 2024-04-22 . Life Sciences British Columbia . en-US.
  18. Web site: 2022-09-30 . Pieter Cullis Receives the 2022 Bloom Burton Award . 2024-04-22 . Bloom Burton . en-US.
  19. Web site: SCI Canada Awards . 2024-04-22 . www.soci.org . en.
  20. Web site: Pieter Cullis - 2023 Killam Prize . 2024-04-22 . Killam Laureates . en-US.
  21. Web site: Fellow Detail Page Royal Society . 2024-04-22 . royalsociety.org . en.
  22. Web site: Chow . Qian . 2023-07-10 . UBC Faculty of Medicine honours exceptional Canadian researchers in cancer, heart, brain disorders and clinical pharmacology . 2024-04-22 . UBC Faculty of Medicine . en-US.
  23. Web site: Secretariat . Intergovernmental Relations . 2023-08-07 . B.C.’s highest honour recognizes 14 British Columbians BC Gov News . 2024-04-22 . news.gov.bc.ca . en.
  24. Web site: Pieter Cullis, OC PhD CMHF . 2024-04-22 . www.cdnmedhall.ca . en.
  25. Web site: Prize Winners – Harvey Prize פרס הארווי . 2024-04-22 . harveypz.net.technion.ac.il.
  26. Web site: Faculty of Medicine Awards 2023 . 2024-04-22 . UBC Faculty of Medicine . en-US.
  27. Web site: Maurice-Marie JANOT Award . 2024-04-22 . APGI - Association de Pharmacie Galénique Industrielle . en-US.