DURHAM, NC—April 6, 2010—Catena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an emerging drug discovery company, announced today that two of its founders, University of Virginia Professors Kevin R. Lynch and Timothy L. Macdonald, have received the 2010 Edlich-Henderson Inventors of the Year Award. The highest honor bestowed by the U.Va. Patent Foundation, the Edlich-Henderson Inventor of the Year award each year recognizes an inventor or team of inventors whose research discoveries have proven to be of notable value to society.
Lynch and Macdonald were honored for their achievements in discovering molecules which modify the biological activity of lysophospholipid signaling molecules, including lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). Lynch and Macdonald have pioneered research in LPA signaling, having received the first research grant ever to be focused on LPA signaling in 1994 from the National Institutes of Health.
Because LPA has been shown to promote cell proliferation, including growth, migration and division, drug molecules that modify its effects could be useful to treat involving diseases such as cancer and fibrosis. Lynch and Macdonald co-founded Catena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to commercialize their discoveries.
“Dr. Lynch and Dr. Macdonald are exceptional scientists, providing a rare combination of academic discipline with an interest in practical applications,” said Dr. Ian J. Mehr, President of Catena Pharmaceuticals. “The compounds discovered by Dr. Lynch and Dr. Macdonald have the potential to become drugs to treat unmet medical needs in cancer and fibrosis, and Catena congratulates them on their achievements.”
Dr. Kevin R. Lynch is a Professor of Pharmacology and Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Virginia. Since Spring 2008, he is also Vice Chair of Pharmacology. Professor Lynch’s academic research program is focused on the chemical biology of lysophospholipid mediators. His laboratory has been continuously funded by NIH, private foundations and the pharmaceutical industry for more than 20 years. He has signed more than 150 publications, and is an inventor on about two dozen issued patents or patent applications. Professor Lynch has worked as a consultant for numerous pharmaceutical companies. Professor Lynch was awarded his Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island in 1980 and was a post-doctoral fellow at Columbia University from 1979-1983.
Dr. Timothy L. Macdonald is a Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacology and a former Chairman of Chemistry at the University of Virginia. Professor Macdonald has over 220 publications and 30 patents and is a founding scientist of several biotechnology companies, including Adenosine Therapeutics LLC, AlGlutamine LLC, and Tau Therapeutics LLC. Dr. Macdonald has helped to shepherd four of his own compounds from the bench to pre-clinical or clinical studies and has overseen the development of another dozen drugs as a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Macdonald was also among those named the “Edlich-Henderson Inventor of the Year” by the University of Virginia Patent Foundation in 1999. He currently serves as a Senior Scientific Advisor or SAB member to publicly traded companies and has served on over a dozen scientific advisory boards. Dr. Macdonald received his Ph.D. from Columbia University, and was a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford University.
ABOUT CATENA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC
Catena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is an emerging drug discovery company developing drugs which fight damaging cell hyper-proliferation. Diseases characterized by hyper-proliferation, such as fibrosis and cancer, remain areas of high unmet medical need, creating intense suffering and major economic costs on the healthcare system. Catena Pharmaceuticals’s proprietary compounds have demonstrated a unique ability to aggressively fight proliferative disease in animal models. For more information: www.catenapharma.com
