British Biotech was a British-based

biotech Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists in the field are kn ...

nology company founded as British Biotechnology Limited in 1986 by former G D Searle managers Keith McCullagh and Brian Richards. It was the first British biotech company to be publicly listed when it was floated on 1 July 1992.

Controversy

In 1996, despite having no compounds on or near the market, the company was temporarily valued at nearly $2.5 billion, largely on the basis of its two main development drugs: ''

marimastat Marimastat was a proposed antineoplastic drug developed by British Biotech. It acted as a broad-spectrum matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor. Marimastat performed poorly in clinical trials, and development was terminated. This may be, however, ...

'' (a novel matrix metalloprotease inhibitor for cancer treatment) and lexipafant (''Zacutex'', for

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "se ...

). ''

Batimastat Batimastat (mnemonic: ''batty''-mustard) (INN/USAN, codenamed BB-94) is a drug that was invented by Laurie Hines of British Biotech (now Vernalis). It is an antimetastatic drug that belongs to the family of drugs called angiogenesis inhibitors. ...

'' (codename BB94) progressed as far as stage 3 in its clinical trial, although not orally bioavailable, there are other methods of administration, including transdermal. In February 1998, Dr Andrew Millar was dismissed as Head of Clinical Research and went on to make allegations that "the Board were running a business plan consistent only with extreme and unfounded optimism". These events were the subject of an inquiry by the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

Select Committee on Science and Technology The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The original Science and Technology Committee was abolished upon the creation of the Innovation, Univ ...

in August 1998 which absolved Dr Millar of any responsibility for the company's problems. Subsequent investigations by the

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

and the

European Medicines Evaluation Agency The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products o ...

found that British Biotech had wilfully misled the public about the progress of marimastat and that unblinding data before the end of clinical trials does not necessarily invalidate the results. Marimastat underwent

Phase III trials The phases of clinical research are the stages in which scientists conduct experiments with a health intervention to obtain sufficient evidence for a process considered effective as a medical treatment. For drug development, the clinical phase ...

in collaboration with Schering-Plough Corporation. Further development of Zacutex was abandoned due to poor clinical trial results. The corporate politics behind the downfall of British Biotech was later recorded for a

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

Series ''Blood on the Carpet''.

Disappearance

In 2003, British Biotech merged with RiboTargets and then into Vernalis Group. The British Biotech company name disappeared after this merger and remaining staff integrated into the new

Vernalis plc Vernalis plc was a UK-based pharmaceuticals business headquartered in Winnersh, with research in Cambridge, and with a Berwyn, PA, US-based commercial operation, Vernalis Therapeutics Inc., focusing on the sales and marketing of slow-release ...

organisation in

Winnersh Winnersh () is a large suburban village and civil parish in the borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. The village is located around northwest of Wokingham town centre and around southeast of central Reading. It is roughly bounded by t ...

, Berkshire.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Vernalis: Parent company
Biotechnology companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Oxford Biotechnology companies established in 1986 Biotechnology companies disestablished in 2003 1986 establishments in England 2003 disestablishments in England