Pieter R. Cullis, Ph.D., FRSC,
Director, Life Sciences Institute,
Co-Chair, BC Personalized Medicine Initiative,
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Director, NanoMedicines Research Group,
The University of British Columbia.
Research Interests
Dr. Cullis and co-workers have been responsible for fundamental advances in the generation, loading and targeting of liposomal nanoparticulate (LNP) systems for intravenous delivery of conventional and genetic drugs. He has published over 300 scientific articles.
Impact
This work has led to three drugs that have been approved by regulatory agencies in the U.S. and Europe for the treatment of cancer and its complications and five more that have finished Phase I clinical studies.
Commercialization
Dr. Cullis co-founded The Canadian Liposome Company, Inex Pharmaceuticals (now Tekmira Pharmaceuticals), Northern Lipids Inc., Lipex Biomembranes Inc., and, most recently, Acuitas Pharmaceuticals and Precision NanoSystems. In addition, he co-founded and was Scientific Director of the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) 2004-2010. He has been part of management teams that have raised over $200M in the biotechnology sector in BC. He is an inventor on over 40 patents.
Achievements
Dr. Cullis has received many awards, including the B.C. Science Council Gold Medal for Health Sciences in 1991, the Alec D. Bangham Award for contributions to liposome science and technology in 2000 and the B.C. Biotechnology Association award for Innovation and Achievement in 2002. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2004, received the Leadership Award of the Canadian Society of Pharmaceutical Scientists in 2010 and was awarded the Prix Galien, Canada’s premier prize for achievements in pharmaceutical R&D, in 2011.
