C. Frank Bennett is an American

pharmacologist Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

. Bennett is currently the Senior Vice President of Research and Neurology Franchise Leader at Ionis Pharmaceuticals. He is a 2019

Breakthrough Prize The Breakthrough Prizes are a set of international awards bestowed in three categories by the Breakthrough Prize Board in recognition of scientific advances. The awards are part of several "Breakthrough" initiatives founded and funded by Yuri M ...

winner in Life Sciences, which he shared with his collaborator

Adrian R. Krainer Adrian Robert Krainer is a Uruguayan-American biochemist and molecular geneticist known for his research into RNA gene-splicing. He helped create a drug for patients with spinal muscular atrophy. Krainer holds the St. Giles Foundation Profess ...

for the development of an effective antisense oligonucleotide therapy for children with the neurodegenerative disease spinal muscular atrophy.

Early life and education

C. Frank Bennett grew up in

Aztec, New Mexico Aztec is a city in, and the county seat of, San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. The city population was 6,126 as of the 2022 population estimate. The Aztec Ruins National Monument is located in Aztec. Aztec was the site of the Aztec, New ...

, where his family owned a small hotel. Bennett holds a bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

and obtained a PhD in Pharmacology in 1985 from

Baylor College of Medicine The Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a private medical school in Houston, Texas, United States. Originally as the Baylor University College of Medicine from 1903 to 1969, the college became independent with the current name and has been se ...

. Bennett completed a postdoctoral fellowship at SmithKline & French Laboratories with Stanley T. Crooke.

Career

Bennett is one of the founding members of

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biotechnology company based in Carlsbad, California, that specializes in discovering and developing RNA-targeted therapeutics. The company has three commercially approved medicines: Spinraza ( Nusinersen), Tegse ...

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...

. He has been involved in the development of antisense oligonucleotides as therapeutic agents, including research on the application of oligonucleotides for inflammatory diseases and cancer, oligonucleotide delivery, pharmacokinetics and medicinal chemistry. Notably, Bennett led the development of antisense technology for the treatment of neurological diseases, including

nusinersen Nusinersen, marketed as Spinraza, is a medication used in treating spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare neuromuscular disorder. In December 2016, it became the first approved drug used in treating this disorder. Since the condition it treats ...

, a treatment for

Spinal Muscular Atrophy Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare neuromuscular disorder that results in the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. It is usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood and if left untreated it is the most common geneti ...

, and several antisense drugs in clinical trials for

Huntington's disease Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that is mostly Genetic disorder#Autosomal dominant, inherited. It typically presents as a triad of progressive psychiatric, cognitive, and ...

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

and

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...

(

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

). Bennett has published more than 200 papers on antisense technology and has more than 175 issued U.S. Patents. Bennett was the co-recipient of the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences and the recipient of the Leslie Gehry Brenner Prize for Innovation in Science awarded by the

Hereditary Disease Foundation The Hereditary Disease Foundation (HDF) aims to cure genetic disorders, notably Huntington's disease, by supporting basic biomedical research. History In 1968, after experiencing Huntington's disease (HD) in his wife's family, Milton Wexler was ...

(2018).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, C. Frank 1960 births 21st-century American biologists American pharmacologists Living people