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Dr Dean J. Naylor
Head of Intellectual Property Development,
CBio Ltd
Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the School of Pharmacy, University of Queensland
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What is your particular area of expertise?
I have 16 years of experience in the field of molecular chaperones (or heat shock proteins), specifically the chaperonin 10 kDa (Cpn10) and chaperonin 60 kDa (Cpn60) proteins. As the name suggests, chaperones are best known and characterised for their roles in folding and assembly of numerous proteins. As a junior group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Munich, my team investigated the mechanism by which molecular chaperones function in the context of a living organism. These efforts led to the exciting discoveries that enclosure of non-native protein in the unique Cpn10 and Cpn60 cage-like complex is essential for protein folding to proceed unimpaired by aggregation. Furthermore, confinement of unfolded protein in the chaperonin cage smoothes the energy landscape for folding of some proteins, effectively accelerating their attainment of the native state (Brinker et al., 2001 Cell). In addition, we identified and thoroughly characterised the in vivo substrate proteome (~300 proteins) of Cpn10 + Cpn60 (Naylor et al., 2005 Cell). This study was a major milestone in the field of chaperone research allowing for the first time the use of native substrates to help unravel the complex mechanisms by which molecular chaperones fold proteins.
Emerging data has implicated molecular chaperones in the regulation of the immune response. For the last 5 years I have worked at the biopharmaceutical company CBio Ltd. I am responsible for leading the research and development of immuno-modulatory drugs for clinical trial evaluation and the expansion/protection of the intellectual property portfolio. These efforts have led to the generation of several potential therapeutics, the most advanced being the human Cpn10 protein. We have established that Cpn10 is a natural regulator of the immune system which limits potentially hazardous inflammatory responses (Johnson et al., J.Biol.Chem. 2005). This observation suggests that Cpn10 may be useful as a therapeutic for diseases associated with inflammation (eg rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and multiple sclerosis). Indeed we have recently established that Cpn10 is safe and efficacious in rheumatoid arthritis patients (Vanags 2006, Lancet 368: 855-863).
What has been your career path to date?
I commenced a PhD in biochemistry at La Trobe Uni and completed my studies at Adelaide Uni in 1998. I undertook a brief post-doctoral stint in the same lab before moving to Munich, Germany in 1999. I was awarded an EMBO fellowship to work as a junior group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Munich before I eventually returned to Australia in 2002. I am now a leader of Research & Development at CBio Ltd.
What have you been working on in the last three months?
IP protection of newly developed Cpn10-based therapeutics that potentially target specific inflammatory diseases and have significantly improved activity.
What do you find the most interesting aspect of your work?
There is a lot of satisfaction in taking a drug from the lab and establishing efficacy in the treatment of a human disease, especially within an Australian biotech company. I also enjoy the interaction with experts from all aspects of drug commercialisation, from academic discovery science, to IP protection, GMP drug production, preclinical toxicology and animal efficacy studies, human clinical trials and big pharma investors.
What practical advice would you give to innovators?
Ensure that you have adequate IP protection around your technology, and remember that the value of your technology is governed by the remaining patent protection lifetime once the technology reaches the market place, so get advice from the right people and be prepared to move quickly.
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