Bristol uni student sells company for £623 million

Dr Harry Destecroix, a graduate who co-founded a company while studying at university has become a multi-millionaire after it was sold for £623m.

Destecroix, 31, co-founded Ziylo while studying for his PhD at the University of Bristol four years ago. The firm created a new technology which can be developed to treat diabetes more effectively.

Pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk's purchase means it now has full rights to develop glucose responsive insulins. Dr Destecroix said he hoped the sale will offer ground-breaking treatment for diabetics.

Ziylo, a university spin-out company, developed a synthetic molecule which works by binding glucose in the bloodstream more effectively.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-45268904
Bristol PR : http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2018/august/ziylo-deal.html

According to the latest company filing, Destecroix owns about 25% of the company. Prof Anthony Davis has a similar holding, and Bristol Uni itself about 10%.

When I looked at the news report, I found that the university retains ownership of a small share in the new company that will develop insulin that will mimic nature. The company was sold for £ 623 million to the pharmaceutical multi-national company Novo Nordisk to develop a drug discovery program. The university hopes that the discovery will enhance the reputation of the university, attract students, incentivize research and provide financial returns. The research group, intend to invest into research into the incubator of their home university, where they have 25 000 other technology companies to benefit diabetic patients.

My experience with Novo Nordisk differs significantly. I was offered an opportunity to work for a project funded by Novo Nordisk to make a kit to detect viruses. The research group leader refused to share the ownership of the patent with the university. I had to decline that offer then.

At the same time, I found myself in a course where Novo Nordisk was hiring graduate students to pursue an internship program. The manager described the mission of Novo Nordisk as the "alleviation of an ideally incurable disease over the longest period of time". I found that statement to be deceptive and a form of quackery, and chose to work for a project at a research institute funded by the German Health Ministry.

Upon investigation, I came across a report by Iain Chalmers, who documented many errors in the design of clinical trials at pharmaceutical companies and the dangerous effects of drugs, to the NHS. He is part of a charity, Cochrane International, which reviews evidence submitted by pharmaceutical companies to assess the effectiveness of drugs.

I also found that the scientist who pioneered the recombination of DNA from one species to another, Peter Berg, expressed concerns over the use of recombinant DNA by his colleagues to make recombinant human insulin. I think that the principle of attempting to induce pancreatic cell signalling, culture pancreatic cells and tissue to produce exogenous insulin to "manage" type 2 diabetes is flawed. The two forms of diabetes have a distinct etiology and pathophysiology. While, the first form is an auto-immune disease, the second form of diabetes is triggered by lifestyle choices.