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{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
| honorific_prefix =
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Pieter Cullis
| name = Pieter R. Cullis
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|FRS|size=100%}}
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|size=100%|FRS|FRSC|FNAI|OBC|OC}}
| image = <!--(filename only, i.e. without "File:" prefix)-->
| image =
| image_size =
| image_size =
| image_upright =
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| citizenship =
| citizenship =
| nationality = [[Canadians|Canadian]]
| nationality = [[Canadians|Canadian]]
| fields = [[Biophysics]]
| workplaces =
| workplaces =
| education =
| education = [[University of British Columbia]] (BSc, Physics, 1964-1967)
| alma_mater = [[University of British Columbia]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lsi.ubc.ca/person/pieter-cullis/|title = Pieter Cullis &#124; Life Sciences Institute}}</ref>
[[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_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_url = https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0084819
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| doctoral_advisor = J.R. Marko
| doctoral_advisor = J.R. Marko
| academic_advisors =
| academic_advisors =
| known_for = [[Lipid nanoparticles]]
| doctoral_students =
| notable_students =
| known_for = [[Lipid nanoparticle]]s
| influences =
| influences =
| influenced =
| influenced =
| awards = Officer of the Order of Canada Pieter Cullis, O.C.
Vancouver, British Columbia

For his contributions to the advancement of biomedical research and drug development, and for his mentorship of the next generation of scientists and entrepreneurs.
| spouse = <!--(or | spouses = )-->
| spouse = <!--(or | spouses = )-->
| partner = <!--(or | partners = )-->
| partner = <!--(or | partners = )-->
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}}
}}


'''Pieter Rutter Cullis''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|FRS}} is a Canadian physicist and biochemist known for his contributions to the field of [[lipid nanoparticle]]s (LNP).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/jun-12-missions-to-venus-learning-instant-replay-wrens-spectacular-duet-and-more-1.6061094/meet-the-canadian-scientist-who-paved-the-way-for-groundbreaking-mrna-covid-vaccines-1.6061099 |title=Meet the Canadian scientist who paved the way for groundbreaking mRNA COVID vaccines &#124; CBC Radio |format= |accessdate=2021-12-09}}</ref> Lipid nanoparticles are essential to current [[mRNA vaccine]]s as a delivery system. Prof. Cullis is best known for the development of ionizable cationic lipids. These lipids are able to complex with negatively charged nucleic acids at low pH (≈4.0) where they are positively charged because they have a pKa if approximately 6.4. They reduce or eliminate toxicity associated with cationic lipids at physiological pH of 7.4 because they adopt a net neutral charge. Finally, they enable endosomal escape because they again become positively charged in acidified endosomes and promote formation of non-bilayer structures by interaction with negatively charged lipids.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Han |first1=Xuexiang |last2=Zhang |first2=Hanwen |last3=Butowska |first3=Kamila |last4=Swingle |first4=Kelsey L. |last5=Alameh |first5=Mohamad-Gabriel |last6=Weissman |first6=Drew |last7=Mitchell |first7=Michael J. |date=2021-12-13 |title=An ionizable lipid toolbox for RNA delivery |journal=Nature Communications |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=7233 |doi=10.1038/s41467-021-27493-0 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=8668901 |pmid=34903741|bibcode=2021NatCo..12.7233H }}</ref> These properties are critical to the function of the mRNA vaccines and are rapidly enabling gene therapy in clinical settings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cullis |first1=Pieter R. |last2=Hope |first2=Michael J. |date=2017-07-05 |title=Lipid Nanoparticle Systems for Enabling Gene Therapies |journal=Molecular Therapy |volume=25 |issue=7 |pages=1467–1475 |doi=10.1016/j.ymthe.2017.03.013 |issn=1525-0024 |pmc=5498813 |pmid=28412170}}</ref>
'''Pieter Rutter Cullis''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|FRS|FRSC|NAI|OBC|OC}} is a Canadian physicist and biochemist known for his contributions to the field of [[lipid nanoparticle]]s (LNP).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/jun-12-missions-to-venus-learning-instant-replay-wrens-spectacular-duet-and-more-1.6061094/meet-the-canadian-scientist-who-paved-the-way-for-groundbreaking-mrna-covid-vaccines-1.6061099 |title=Meet the Canadian scientist who paved the way for groundbreaking mRNA COVID vaccines &#124; CBC Radio |format= |accessdate=2021-12-09}}</ref> 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 [[Food and Drug Administration|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 [[Food and Drug Administration|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 vaccine|Covid 19 vaccines]] that Acuitas developed with [[Pfizer]]/[[BioNTech]] and [[CureVac]]. The [[Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine|Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine]] '''BNT162b2''' relies on an LNP delivery system developed by [[Acuitas Therapeutics|Acuitas]]. BNT162b2 (Comirnaty) was approved for emergency use<ref>{{Cite web |last=Commissioner |first=Office of the |date=December 14, 2020 |title=FDA Takes Key Action in Fight Against COVID-19 By Issuing Emergency Use Authorization for First COVID-19 Vaccine |url=https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-key-action-fight-against-covid-19-issuing-emergency-use-authorization-first-covid-19 |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=FDA |language=en}}</ref> (December 2020) by the US FDA and has subsequently been approved by the US,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Commissioner |first=Office of the |date=August 23, 2021 |title=FDA Approves First COVID-19 Vaccine |url=https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-covid-19-vaccine |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=FDA |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Which covid-19 vaccine saved the most lives in 2021? |url=https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/07/13/which-covid-19-vaccine-saved-the-most-lives-in-2021 |access-date=2024-04-23 |work=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>


== Nanomedicine Drugs ==
Cullis co-founded several companies to develop and commercialize LNP technology including [[Acuitas Therapeutics]], Integrated Nanotherapeutics and Precision NanoSystems.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2019 |title=Holland 2006 |url=https://www.rebootcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Cullis-Kelowna-June-2019.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713174744/https://www.rebootcommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Cullis-Kelowna-June-2019.pdf |archive-date=2021-07-13 |access-date=2022-09-30 |website=Reboot Communications}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pieter Cullis |url=https://integratedntx.com/pieter-cullis |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206215413/https://integratedntx.com/pieter-cullis |archive-date=2023-02-06 |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=Integrated Nanotherapeutics |language=en-US}}</ref>
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).
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|'''Nanomedicine Drug'''
|'''Trade Name'''
|'''Indication'''
|'''Status (2020)'''
|'''Company'''
|-
|LNP Amphotericin
|Abelcet
|Fungal infections
|Approved US, Europe - 1995
|[[Enzon Pharmaceuticals|Enzon]]/Canadian Lipo Co
|-
|LNP Doxorubicin
|Myocet
|Metastatic breast cancer
|Approved Europe, Canada - 2000
|[[Cephalon]]/Canadian Lipo Co
|-
|LNP Vincristine
|Marqibo
|Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
|Approved US - 2012
|[[Spectrum Pharmaceuticals|Spectrum Pharma]]/Inex
|-
|LNP siRNA TTR
|Onpattro
|Transthyretin-induced amyloidosis
|Approved US, Europe - 2018
|[[Alnylam Pharmaceuticals|Alnylam]]/[[Acuitas Therapeutics|Acuitas]]
|-
|LNP mRNA SARS Cov 2
|Comirnaty
|COVID-19 mRNA vaccine
|Approved US, Europe - 2021
|[[Pfizer]]/[[BioNTech]]/[[Acuitas Therapeutics|Acuitas]]
|}


==Research==
== Research and Professional Experience ==
{| class="wikitable"
Cullis received a PhD in physics from the [[University of British Columbia]] and then moved to [[Oxford University]] to work as a postdoctoral fellow in [[biochemistry]] working on [[NMR]]. During his time at Oxford, he started to work on lipids.<ref name="interview_nature">{{cite journal |title=From lipids to lipid nanoparticles to mRNA vaccines &#124; Nature Reviews Materials |journal=Nature Reviews Materials |date=December 2021 |volume=6 |issue=12 |pages=1075–1076 |doi=10.1038/s41578-021-00379-9 |last1=Horejs |first1=Christine |pmid=34567796 |pmc=8454296 }}</ref> In the 1980s, he established his own laboratory at the [[University of British Columbia]] and started to create lipid bilayers and founded Inex Pharmaceuticals, where they researched ways to encapsulate [[drug]]s and [[nucleic acid]]s within the lipid particles.<ref name="interview_nature"/> He worked on the development of [[Patisiran]], a drug that uses [[small interfering RNA]] delivered via lipid nanoparticles and was FDA approved in 2018.
|+
|'''Institution/Company'''
|'''Title'''
|-
|[[University of British Columbia|UBC]], Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
|Assistant Professor (1978); Associate Professor (1982); Professor (1985-present)
|-
|Lipex Biomembranes (now Evonik Canada)
|Co-Founder (1985); Chairman (1985 -2000)
|-
|Canadian Liposome Company
|Co-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 Therapeutics]]
|Co-Founder (2009); Chairman (2009-2021)
|-
|Precision NanoSystems
|Co-Founder (2010); Chairman (2010-2015)
|-
|Personalized Medicine Initiative
|Co-Founder (2011); Chairman (2011-2017)
|-
|Life Sciences Institute, UBC
|Director (2013-2017)
|-
|GenXys Health Care Systems
|Co-Founder (2014); Director (2014-2016)
|-
|Mesentech
|Co-Founder (2014); Director (2014-2019)
|-
|Molecular You Corporation
|Co-Founder (2014); Chairman (2014-present)
|-
|AllerGen National Centre of Excellence
|Director (2014-present); Chairman (2017-present)
|-
|Integrated NanoTherapeutics
|Co-Founder (2015); Chairman (2015-2021)
|-
|NanoMedicines Innovation Network NCE
|Founder (2019); Scientific Director & CEO (2019-2021)
|-
|NanoVation Therapeutics
|Co-Founder (2020); Chairman (2020-present)
|}


== Awards and Honours ==
== Academic and Professional Awards ==
{| class="wikitable"
*1986: Canadian Biochemical Society Ayerst Award
|+
*1991: B.C. Science Council Gold Medal for Health Sciences
!Start
*2000: Alec D. Bangham Award for contributions to liposome science and technology
!End
*2002: B.C. Biotechnology Association Award for Innovation and Achievement
!Name of Award
*2004: Elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada]]
!Agency
*2005: Barré Prize for contributions to Pharmaceutical Sciences by the University of Montreal
|-
*2005: UBC Alumni Award for Research in Science and Medicine<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alumni Achievement Awards Past Recipients |url=https://alumni.ubc.ca/events/awards/past-recipients/ |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=alumni UBC |language=en-US}}</ref>
|1973
*2011: Prix Galien Canada Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=Laureates: All |url=http://eng.prix-galien-canada.org/all-laureats.html |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=eng.prix-galien-canada.org |language=en}}</ref>
|1976
*2011: Bill and Marilyn Webber Lifetime Achievement Award
|MRC Postdoctoral Fellowship
*2017: Elected a Fellow of the [[National Academy of Inventors]]
|Canadian Medical Research Council
*2021: Controlled Release Society Founders Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021 Awards Announced {{!}} Controlled Release Society (CRS) |url=https://www.controlledreleasesociety.org/2021-awards-announced |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=www.controlledreleasesociety.org}}</ref>
|-
*2021: [[Prince Mahidol Award]] in Medicine<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-15 |title=Professor Pieter Cullis |url=https://www.princemahidolaward.org/people/professor-pieter-cullis/ |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=Prince Mahidol Award Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>
|1977
* 2022: Officer of the [[Order of Canada]]<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/activities/2021/governor-general-announces-135-new-appointments-order-canada|publisher=Governor General of Canada|date=December 29, 2021|title=Governor General announces 135 new appointments to the Order of Canada}}</ref>
|1977
*2022: [[VinFuture Prize]] Grand Prize<ref>{{Cite web |title=Professor Pieter R. Cullis |url=https://vinfutureprize.org/laureates/professor-pieter-r-cullis/ |access-date=2022-04-05 |website=VinFuture Prize Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>
|EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship
*2022: Camurus Lipid Research Foundation 2021 and 2020 Lipid Science Prize<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021 and 2020 Lipid Science Prize awarded to inventors of m-RNA and lipid nanoparticle technologies - Camurus |url=https://www.camurus.com/media/press-releases/2022/2021-and-2020-lipid-science-prize-awarded-to-inventors-of-m-rna-and-lipid-nanoparticle-technologies/ |access-date=2022-09-30 |website=www.camurus.com |language=en}}</ref>
|European Molecular Biology Organization
*2022: [[Canada Gairdner International Award]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-05 |title=2022 Canada Gairdner Awards Recognize World-Renowned Scientists For Transformative Contributions To Research Impacting Human Health |url=https://gairdner.org/2022-canada-gairdner-awards-recognize-world-renowned-scientists-for-transformative-contributions-to-research-impacting-human-health/ |access-date=2022-04-05 |website=Gairdner Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
*2022: Governor General's Innovation Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 Archives |url=https://innovation.gg.ca/year/2022/ |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=Governor General’s Innovation Awards |language=en-US}}</ref>
|1978
*2022: [[Tang Prize]] in Biopharmaceutical Science<ref>[https://www.tang-prize.org/en/media_detail.php?id=1705 Tang Prize 2022]</ref>
|1982
*2022: UBC Alumni Award of Distinction<ref>{{Cite web |title=alumni UBC Achievement Awards |url=https://alumni.ubc.ca/events/awards/ |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=alumni UBC |language=en-US}}</ref>
|MRC Scholar
*2022: Phospholipid Research Center The Thudichum Life Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Thudichum Award |url=https://www.phospholipid-research-center.com/awards/thudichum-award/ |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=Phospholipid Research Center}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Thudichum Young Scientist Award 2019 |url=https://www.phospholipid-research-center.com/awards/award-winners-2022/ |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=Phospholipid Research Center}}</ref>
|Medical Research Council of Canada
*2022: Life Sciences British Columbia Global Impact Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=24th Annual Life Sciences BC Awards presented by Farris |url=https://lifesciencesbc.ca/event/24th-annual-life-sciences-bc-awards/ |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=Life Sciences British Columbia |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
*2022: Bloom Burton Award<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-30 |title=Pieter Cullis Receives the 2022 Bloom Burton Award |url=https://www.bloomburton.com/pieter-cullis-receives-the-2022-bloom-burton-award/ |access-date=2022-09-30 |website=Bloom Burton |language=en-US}}</ref>
|1983
*2023: Killam Prize for Health Sciences<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pieter Cullis (Health Sciences) |url=https://killamlaureates.ca/laureates/pieter-cullis-health-sciences/ |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=Killam Laureates |language=en-US}}</ref>
|1989
*2023: SCI Canada Awards Julia Levy Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=SCI Canada Awards |url=https://www.soci.org/events/canada-group/2023/sci-canada-awards |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=www.soci.org |language=en}}</ref>
|MRC Scientist
*2023: Elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pieter Cullis |url=https://royalsociety.org/people/pieter-cullis-36209/ |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=royalsociety.org}}</ref>
|Medical Research Council of Canada
|-
|1986
|
|Ayerst Award
|Canadian Biochemical Society
|-
|1988
|1989
|UBC Killam Research Prize
|University of British Columbia
|-
|1988
|
|Jacob Bierly Research Prize
|University of British Columbia
|-
|1991
|
|Gold Medal for Health Sciences
|BC Science Council
|-
|2000
|
|Alec Bangham Award
|International Liposome Society
|-
|2002
|
|Award for Innovation and Achievement
|BC Biotechnology Alliance
|-
|2004
|
|[[Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada]]
|Royal Society of Canada
|-
|2005
|
|Barre Award
|University of Montreal
|-
|2005
|
|UBC Alumni Award for Research, Science & Medicine<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Alumni Achievement Awards Past Recipients |url=https://alumni.ubc.ca/events/awards/past-recipients/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=alumni UBC |language=en-US}}</ref>
|University of British Columbia
|-
|2010
|
|CSPS Leadership Award
|Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences
|-
|2011
|
|Bill and Marilyn Webber Lifetime Achievement Award<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-04-14 |title=2011 Faculty of Medicine awards |url=https://news.ubc.ca/2011/04/14/2011-faculty-of-medicine-awards/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=UBC News |language=en-US}}</ref>
|University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
|-
|2011
|
|Prix Galien Canada Research Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Prix Galien Canada – Product Innovation Award |url=https://innovativemedicines.ca/browse-by/health-research-foundation-hrf/awards/the-prix-galien-canada-product-innovation-award/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Innovative Medicines Canada |language=en-US}}</ref>
|Prix Galien Canada
|-
|2012
|
|Senior Faculty Award-Outstanding Contributions
|University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
|-
|2015
|
|Milton Wong Leadership Award
|Life Science BC
|-
|2016
|
|Lifetime Achievement Award
|Journal of Drug Targeting
|-
|2018
|
|Fellow National Academy of Inventors
|National Academy of Inventors, USA
|-
|2021
|
|Founder’s Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021 Awards Announced {{!}} Controlled Release Society (CRS) |url=https://www.controlledreleasesociety.org/2021-awards-announced |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=www.controlledreleasesociety.org}}</ref>
|Controlled Release Society, USA
|-
|2021
|
|[[Prince Mahidol Award]] (Medicine)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-15 |title=Professor Pieter Cullis |url=https://www.princemahidolaward.org/people/professor-pieter-cullis/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Prince Mahidol Award Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>
|Prince Mahidol Award Foundation, Thailand
|-
|2021
|
|Officer, [[Order of Canada]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=General |first=Office of the Secretary to the Governor |date=2021-12-20 |title=Governor General announces 135 appointments to the Order of Canada |url=https://www.gg.ca/en/activities/2021/governor-general-announces-135-new-appointments-order-canada |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=The Governor General of Canada}}</ref>
|Governor General of Canada
|-
|2022
|
|[[VinFuture Prize]], Grand Prize<ref>{{Cite web |title=Professor Pieter R. Cullis |url=https://vinfutureprize.org/laureates/professor-pieter-r-cullis/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=VinFuture Prize |language=en-US}}</ref>
|VinFuture Foundation, Vietnam
|-
|2022
|
|Canada Gairdner International Award<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=The Gairdner |date=2023-06-01 |title=Pieter Cullis - Gairdner Foundation Award Winner |url=https://www.gairdner.org/winner/pieter-cullis |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=The Gairdner Foundation |language=en}}</ref>
|Gairdner Foundation, Canada
|-
|2022
|
|Lipid Science Prize<ref>{{Cite web |title=CLRF Lipid Science Prize 2021/2022 – Camurus Lipid Research Foundation |url=https://www.clrf.se/lipid/clrf-lipid-science-prize-2021-2022/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |language=sv-SE}}</ref>
|Camurus Foundation, Sweden
|-
|2022
|
|Thudichum Life Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Thudichum Award |url=https://www.phospholipid-research-center.com/awards/thudichum-award/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Phospholipid Research Center}}</ref>
|Phospholipid Research Centre, Germany
|-
|2022
|
|UBC Alumni Award of Distinction<ref name=":0" />
|University of British Columbia
|-
|2022
|
|[[Tang Prize]] (Biopharmaceutical Science)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tang Prize {{!}} Media {{!}} 2022 Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science Honors Three Scientists for Developing COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines |url=https://www.tang-prize.org/en/media_detail.php?id=1705 |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=www.tang-prize.org |language=en}}</ref>
|Tang Foundation, Taiwan
|-
|2022
|
|Governor General’s Innovation Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 Archives |url=https://innovation.gg.ca/year/2022/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Governor General’s Innovation Awards |language=en-US}}</ref>
|Rideau Hall Foundation, Canada
|-
|2022
|
|Global Impact Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=24th Annual Life Sciences BC Awards presented by Farris |url=https://lifesciencesbc.ca/event/24th-annual-life-sciences-bc-awards/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Life Sciences British Columbia |language=en-US}}</ref>
|Life Sciences BC
|-
|2022
|
|Bloom Burton Award<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-30 |title=Pieter Cullis Receives the 2022 Bloom Burton Award |url=https://www.bloomburton.com/pieter-cullis-receives-the-2022-bloom-burton-award/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Bloom Burton |language=en-US}}</ref>
|Bloom Burton & Co.
|-
|2023
|
|Julia Levy Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=SCI Canada Awards |url=https://www.soci.org/events/canada-group/2023/sci-canada-awards |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=www.soci.org |language=en}}</ref>
|Society for Chemical Industry
|-
|2023
|
|Doctorate Honoris Causa
|Ghent University, Belgium
|-
|2023
|
|Killam Prize<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pieter Cullis - 2023 Killam Prize |url=https://killamlaureates.ca/laureates/pieter-cullis-health-sciences/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Killam Laureates |language=en-US}}</ref>
|Killam Foundation, National Research Council, Canada
|-
|2023
|
|[[Fellow of the Royal Society]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fellow Detail Page {{!}} Royal Society |url=https://royalsociety.org/people/pieter-cullis-36209/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=royalsociety.org |language=en}}</ref>
|Royal Society, London
|-
|2023
|
|Sultan Karim Medal of Excellence in Clinical Pharmacology<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chow |first=Qian |date=2023-07-10 |title=UBC Faculty of Medicine honours exceptional Canadian researchers in cancer, heart, brain disorders and clinical pharmacology |url=https://www.med.ubc.ca/news/ubc-faculty-of-medicine-honours-exceptional-canadian-researchers-in-cancer-heart-brain-disorders-and-clinical-pharmacology/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=UBC Faculty of Medicine |language=en-US}}</ref>
|University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
|-
|2023
|
|Member, [[Order of British Columbia]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Secretariat |first=Intergovernmental Relations |date=2023-08-07 |title=B.C.’s highest honour recognizes 14 British Columbians {{!}} BC Gov News |url=https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023IGRS0018-001270 |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=news.gov.bc.ca |language=en}}</ref>
|Governor General of BC
|-
|2023
|
|Member, [[Canadian Medical Hall of Fame]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pieter Cullis, OC PhD {{!}} CMHF |url=https://www.cdnmedhall.ca/pietercullis |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=www.cdnmedhall.ca |language=en}}</ref>
|Canadian Medical Hall of Fame
|-
|2023
|
|[[Harvey Prize]] (awarded for the year 2021)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prize Winners – Harvey Prize {{!}} פרס הארווי |url=https://harveypz.net.technion.ac.il/harvey-prize-laureates/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=harveypz.net.technion.ac.il}}</ref>
|Technion, Israel
|-
|2023
|
|Bill and Marilyn Webber Lifetime Achievement Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=Faculty of Medicine Awards 2023 |url=https://www.med.ubc.ca/news/faculty-of-medicine-awards-2023/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=UBC Faculty of Medicine |language=en-US}}</ref>
|University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
|-
|2024
|
|Maurice-Marie Janot Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maurice-Marie JANOT Award |url=https://apgi.org/awards/maurice-marie-janot-award/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=APGI - Association de Pharmacie Galénique Industrielle |language=en-US}}</ref>
|Association de Pharmacie Galénique Industrielle, France
|}


==References==
==References==
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Latest revision as of 20:56, 1 May 2024

Pieter R. Cullis
FRS FRSC OBC OC
Born1946 (age 77–78)
NationalityCanadian
EducationUniversity 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)
Known forLipid nanoparticles
Scientific career
ThesisElectron paramagnetic resonance of phosphorus doped silicon in the intermediate impurity concentration range (1972)
Doctoral advisorJ.R. Marko
Websitewww.liposomes.ca

Pieter Rutter Cullis FRS FRSC OBC OC 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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 Name Indication Status (2020) Company
LNP Amphotericin Abelcet Fungal infections Approved US, Europe - 1995 Enzon/Canadian Lipo Co
LNP Doxorubicin Myocet Metastatic breast cancer Approved Europe, Canada - 2000 Cephalon/Canadian Lipo Co
LNP Vincristine Marqibo Acute lymphoblastic leukemia Approved US - 2012 Spectrum Pharma/Inex
LNP siRNA TTR Onpattro Transthyretin-induced amyloidosis Approved US, Europe - 2018 Alnylam/Acuitas
LNP mRNA SARS Cov 2 Comirnaty COVID-19 mRNA vaccine Approved US, Europe - 2021 Pfizer/BioNTech/Acuitas

Research and Professional Experience

[edit]
Institution/Company Title
UBC, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Assistant Professor (1978); Associate Professor (1982); Professor (1985-present)
Lipex Biomembranes (now Evonik Canada) Co-Founder (1985); Chairman (1985 -2000)
Canadian Liposome Company Co-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 Therapeutics Co-Founder (2009); Chairman (2009-2021)
Precision NanoSystems Co-Founder (2010); Chairman (2010-2015)
Personalized Medicine Initiative Co-Founder (2011); Chairman (2011-2017)
Life Sciences Institute, UBC Director (2013-2017)
GenXys Health Care Systems Co-Founder (2014); Director (2014-2016)
Mesentech Co-Founder (2014); Director (2014-2019)
Molecular You Corporation Co-Founder (2014); Chairman (2014-present)
AllerGen National Centre of Excellence Director (2014-present); Chairman (2017-present)
Integrated NanoTherapeutics Co-Founder (2015); Chairman (2015-2021)
NanoMedicines Innovation Network NCE Founder (2019); Scientific Director & CEO (2019-2021)
NanoVation Therapeutics Co-Founder (2020); Chairman (2020-present)

Academic and Professional Awards

[edit]
Start End Name of Award Agency
1973 1976 MRC Postdoctoral Fellowship Canadian Medical Research Council
1977 1977 EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship European Molecular Biology Organization
1978 1982 MRC Scholar Medical Research Council of Canada
1983 1989 MRC Scientist Medical Research Council of Canada
1986 Ayerst Award Canadian Biochemical Society
1988 1989 UBC Killam Research Prize University of British Columbia
1988 Jacob Bierly Research Prize University of British Columbia
1991 Gold Medal for Health Sciences BC Science Council
2000 Alec Bangham Award International Liposome Society
2002 Award for Innovation and Achievement BC Biotechnology Alliance
2004 Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada Royal Society of Canada
2005 Barre Award University of Montreal
2005 UBC Alumni Award for Research, Science & Medicine[5] University of British Columbia
2010 CSPS Leadership Award Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences
2011 Bill and Marilyn Webber Lifetime Achievement Award[6] University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
2011 Prix Galien Canada Research Award[7] Prix Galien Canada
2012 Senior Faculty Award-Outstanding Contributions University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
2015 Milton Wong Leadership Award Life Science BC
2016 Lifetime Achievement Award Journal of Drug Targeting
2018 Fellow National Academy of Inventors National Academy of Inventors, USA
2021 Founder’s Award[8] Controlled Release Society, USA
2021 Prince Mahidol Award (Medicine)[9] Prince Mahidol Award Foundation, Thailand
2021 Officer, Order of Canada[10] Governor General of Canada
2022 VinFuture Prize, Grand Prize[11] VinFuture Foundation, Vietnam
2022 Canada Gairdner International Award[12] Gairdner Foundation, Canada
2022 Lipid Science Prize[13] Camurus Foundation, Sweden
2022 Thudichum Life Award[14] Phospholipid Research Centre, Germany
2022 UBC Alumni Award of Distinction[5] University of British Columbia
2022 Tang Prize (Biopharmaceutical Science)[15] Tang Foundation, Taiwan
2022 Governor General’s Innovation Award[16] Rideau Hall Foundation, Canada
2022 Global Impact Award[17] Life Sciences BC
2022 Bloom Burton Award[18] Bloom Burton & Co.
2023 Julia Levy Award[19] Society for Chemical Industry
2023 Doctorate Honoris Causa Ghent University, Belgium
2023 Killam Prize[20] Killam Foundation, National Research Council, Canada
2023 Fellow of the Royal Society[21] Royal Society, London
2023 Sultan Karim Medal of Excellence in Clinical Pharmacology[22] University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
2023 Member, Order of British Columbia[23] Governor General of BC
2023 Member, Canadian Medical Hall of Fame[24] Canadian Medical Hall of Fame
2023 Harvey Prize (awarded for the year 2021)[25] Technion, Israel
2023 Bill and Marilyn Webber Lifetime Achievement Award[26] University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
2024 Maurice-Marie Janot Award[27] Association de Pharmacie Galénique Industrielle, France

References

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