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Cambridge Enterprise has lost a longtime champion and great friend, Professor Chris Abell, who died suddenly earlier this week. Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Professor of Biological Chemistry, Chris was a founding director of Cambridge Enterprise and a member of our investment committee.
Professor Christopher Abell (Credit the Royal Society)
A biological chemist, Chris pioneered the field of fragment-based drug discovery. A major focus of his research was understanding the mechanisms of key enzymes and the discovery of their inhibitors. This work could lead to new treatments for diseases such as tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis, and cancer.
The advances Chris made in fragment-based drug discovery led him to co-found Astex Pharmaceuticals, a world-leading company in this field, in 1999. It was acquired by Otsuka Pharmaceuticals for $886 million in 2013. Fragment-based approaches to early stage drug discovery are now employed throughout the pharmaceutical industry and in many academic laboratories.
Chris also made important contributions to the development of microfluidic picodroplets as a platform for experimental science, with applications in cell biology, chemistry, and materials science. This led him to co-found Sphere Fluidics (2010) and Aqdot (2013).
His success as an entrepreneur made Chris a natural ally in the creation of Cambridge Enterprise 15 years ago. His enthusiasm for commercialising academic research won over many who were initially skeptical and led the University as whole to see it as a worthy and important activity. Chris also aided Cambridge Enterprise’s mission by grasping the unique and vital role that postdoctoral researchers play within the University and inculcating this view in a number of ways, including his service as the University’s first Director of Postdoctoral Affairs.
A digital condolences book has been set up at: www.remembr.com/professor.chris.abell
Image on page : Professor Chris Abell (page) | (Credit: The Royal Society)