Cypralis, a UK-based life sciences company focused on the discovery of novel therapeutics based on modulation of peptidyl-prolyl isomerases (PPIases), has hired Dr Michael Peel as Chief Scientific Officer.
He joins the Ongar, Essex-based firm from Scynexis, where he was Director of Discovery and led the firm's antifungal research collaboration that resulted in SCY-078 and in-house cyclophilin inhibitor programmes in virology, ophthalmology and immunology.
Peel is a medicinal chemist who undertook his PhD at Sheffield University in 1985. Following post-doctoral studies at Wayne State University, Detroit, US, he joined Glaxo Inc, based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, where he led several research projects in inflammation, cancer and virology, and played a key role in GSK’s kinase research effort.
He then joined Scynexis in 2002 where he was responsible for building the Scynexis chemistry service group and directing DMPK and biology for in-house research.
Cypralis was spun out from Selcia Limited in 2013 to exploit its expertise and know-how in targeting peptidyl-prolyl isomerases (known as PPIases), a large family of druggable protein targets involved in many acute and chronic diseases.
