Chiroscience Group Plc was a British-based
biotech
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used by ...
company, founded by
Christopher Evans. The company was taken over by
Celltech in 1999,
which was acquired in 2004 by
UCB.
History
Chiroscience was born from the demise of the company Enzymatix, which was ultimately acquired by Genzyme, when Andrew Richards joined the company and convinced Evans and Peter Keen to launch Chiros, which name was quickly revised to Chrioscience.
Seed funding for the company of was provided by
Schroder Ventures,
Apax and
3i.
Chiroscience became one of the first biotechnology
Initial Public Offerings in the United Kingdom in 1994.
In 1996, the company merged with the American biotech company ''Darwin Molecular Corporation'', based in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...
, retaining Chiroscience as its name.
By the time of its merger with Celltech in 1999, both Chris Evans and Peter Keen had left the company, leaving Andrew Richards as the sole remaining founder and member of the original management board.
See also
*
Chirocaine
Levobupivacaine (rINN) is a local anaesthetic drug belonging to the amino amide group. It is the ''S''-enantiomer of bupivacaine.
Levobupivacaine hydrochloride is commonly marketed by AbbVie under the trade name Chirocaine.Rossi S, editor. Austr ...
, an anesthetic developed by Chiroscience
*
Romosozumab
Romosozumab, sold under the brand name Evenity, is a medication used to treat osteoporosis. It has been found to decrease the risk of fractures of the spine.
Common side effect include headache, joint pain, and pain at the site of injection. ...
, discovered by Chiroscience before its acquisition by Celltech
*
Pharmaceutical industry in the United Kingdom
References and notes
Further reading
* This shows performance of stock from May 1995 to May 1996.
* Contains a graphic showing company stock performance across 1994 to 1996.
External links
UCB Group website
Pharmaceutical companies of the United Kingdom
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