January 2008
Celtic Catalysts to attend Informex 2008 in New Orleans USA. January 29th- February1st
February 2008 - Brian Kelly appointed as CEO of Celtic Catalysts
8th February, Dublin, IRELAND. Celtic Catalysts, the Dublin based supplier of niche chemical products and services to the Pharmaceutical & Fine Chemicals industries today announced the appointment of Brian Kelly as Chief Executive Officer. Having founded the company along with Chief Scientific Officer Declan Gilheany, Kelly previously served as Director of Business Development and Operations Director. He succeeds industry veteran Brian Elliott who had previously held senior positions in J&J in both Ireland and Belgium and was founder of a number of successful biotech companies. Elliott becomes chairman of the board of directors of Celtic Catalysts.
Commenting on his appointment Kelly said “Now that we have established ourselves firmly as a player in the chiral chemistry area, I am delighted to be taking on this role and leading the company confidently to future growth and profitability and facing the exciting challenges ahead”
February 2008 - Celtic Catalysts wins “Rising Star” award at International Biotech Competition
18th February, Dublin, IRELAND. Celtic Catalysts, a leading supplier of chiral products and technology to the Fine Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Biotech industries was declared the international winner of the "Rising Star Award" at the BioIndustry Association (Scotland) Thistle Bioscience Forum 2008 which took place in Edinburgh.
Each of the participants pitched their companies and development strategies to a panel of experts and an invited audience before Celtic Catalysts was announced the overall winner.
Celtic Catalysts' focus is on the area of chiral synthesis and it has developed a comprehensive portfolio of intellectual property and carved out a uniquely strong niche for itself in the specialised area of P-chiral technology. This technology can be used in the production of a range of drugs which are particularly prevalent in anti-viral and anti-cancer therapeutic areas.
Commenting on the win, Dr Brian Kelly, CEO said, "Celtic Catalysts is delighted to have won this international award. It is a wonderful endorsement of the tremendous hard work of our team over many years to develop and build our IP portfolio and our strategy of translating that portfolio into a dynamic and growing business of international reach."
April 2008
Celtic Catalysts to attend BioFine Conference & Exhibition 2008 in Freiburg, Germany. April 10-11th.
May 2008 - Celtic Catalysts scoops NovaUCD 2008 Innovation Award
UCD spin-out company, Celtic Catalysts has won the NovaUCD 2008 Innovation Award. The award was presented to the company in recognition of its successful commercialisation of chiral synthesis research which took place in the UCD School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. This is the first time that a UCD spin-out company has won the award. Celtic Catalysts has developed technology which enables global pharmaceutical companies manufacture drugs, particularly in anti-viral and anti-cancer therapeutic areas more cost effectively.
“Celtic Catalysts is a really exciting spin-out company established to commercialise the output of UCD research,” said Dr Hugh Brady, President of UCD, who presented the award. “The generation of new high-tech ventures, such as Celtic Catalysts, is seen as one increasingly important measure of the impact of our research output on economic development in Ireland.”
The company was co-founded in 2000 by Professor Declan Gilheany and Dr Brian Kelly. Its focus is on the area of chiral synthesis and it has developed a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio and carved out a uniquely strong niche for itself in the specialised area of “P-chiral” technology. This technology can be used in the production of a range of drugs which are particularly prevalent in anti-viral and anti-cancer therapeutic areas.
Since 2004, Celtic Catalysts has secured €2 millionin investment from 4th Level Ventures, Enterprise Ireland, Údarás na Gaeltachta and the Business Expansion Scheme (BES). In addition it has secured two European Commission grants under the prestigious Marie Curie funding scheme. The company currently employs 17 people and is headquartered in NovaUCD the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre at UCD.
In addition to product sales, Celtic Catalysts has already signed several research alliance agreements with a number of multinational pharmaceutical companies. These research alliance agreements enable Celtic Catalysts utilise their expertise and technology to solve problems being encountered by pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the manufacture of their drugs.
“Brian Kelly, a PhD student when the company was founded, is now the company’s CEO. He is an ideal role model for young researchers seeking the inspiration to establish and grow new knowledge-intensive enterprises,” said Dr Pat Frain, Director, NovaUCD.
Celtic Catalysts is currently in fundraising mode and plans to expand its workforce to over 30 people, mostly at PhD level, within the next two years, to occupy its own laboratory facilities to manufacture bulk quantities of its products in addition to securing alliances and to supply agreements with all major Pharma and fine chemical companies.
The NovaUCD Innovation Award was established in 2004 to highlight UCD’s commitment to innovation. The Award is presented annually to an individual, company or organisation in recognition of excellence in innovation or of success achieved in the commercialisation of UCD research or other intellectual activity. The previous award winners are Professor Ciaran Regan (2007), Professor Conor Heneghan (2006), Professor Barry Smyth (2005) and Professor Mark Rogers (2004).
Celtic Catalysts is a leading supplier of chiral products and technology to the Fine Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Biotech industries. Celtic Catalysts focuses on the area of chiral synthesis and it has developed a comprehensive portfolio of intellectual property and carved out a uniquely strong niche for itself in the specialised area of P-chiral technology. The company is commercialising chiral technology, developed over many years in UCD’s School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.
June 2008
Celtic Catalysts to exhibit at Chemspec 2008 Exhibition & Trade Show in Munich, Germany. June 18-19th.
September 2008
Celtic Catalysts to exhibit at CPhI 2008 Exhibition & Trade Show in Frankfurt, Germany. September 30th-October 2nd.