Cytopia’s Professor Andrew F Wilks and Dr Chris Burns received the 2024 Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation.
The prize recognises their outstanding contribution to drug discovery and development in Australia. Prof Wilks and Dr Burns invented momelotinib, a drug to help treat myelofibrosis.
This rare form of blood cancer impacts one in 100,000 people in Australia. Many people who suffer from it develop anaemia and require regular blood transfusions, with low chance of recovery.
In 1989, Prof Wilks discovered a family of intracellular enzymes that signal the body to make more blood cells and activate the immune system. For patients with myelofibrosis, these enzymes can mutate and become overactive.
Prof Wilks went on to found Cytopia, an Australian biotechnology company focused on developing new drugs to treat cancer and other diseases. He joined forces with Dr Burns in 2001 and the duo translated their research and breakthrough discoveries into momelotinib. Momelotinib works to ‘switch off’ the cancerous signal in the body.
The US Food and Drug Administration approved momelotinib in 2023, a rare achievement for an all-Australian team. Their innovation shows that it is possible to translate Australian academic life science research into medicines with global impacts.
