[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 12 (Wednesday, February 9, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    RECOGNITION OF DR. CHARLES BUGG

  Mr. HEFLIN. Madam President, I want to take a moment to congratulate 
Dr. Charles Bugg, who recently became chief executive officer and 
chairman of the board of the Birmingham, Alabama-based pharmaceutical 
company, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He took over his new posts at 
BioCryst, a direct spin-off from the University of Alabama at 
Birmingham's health research activities, on January 1, after serving as 
a top scientist at UAB for 26 years.
  I wish Dr. Bugg every success in his new position. Thankfully for 
UAB, he will continue to devote about 10 percent of his time to the 
university throughout this year. I ask unanimous consent that an 
article appearing in the Birmingham News on December 13, 1993 
announcing Dr. Bugg's move and detailing the important work done by 
BioCryst be included in the Record at this point.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                  Top UAB researcher to head Biocryst

                          (By Jeffrey Hansen)

       A top University of Alabama at Birmingham scientist is 
     moving from gown to town, going from the academic research 
     lab to the business suite.
       Observers say this could signal a coming of age in a 
     decade-long effort to spin science-related companies off from 
     the UAB research colossus.
       Specifically, Charlie Bugg--who two weeks ago gave the 
     distinguished faculty lecture on his work in X-ray 
     crystallography--is leaving to head the Birmingham-based 
     pharmaceutical company, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc.
       He will become chief executive officer and chairman of the 
     board, effective Jan. 1.
       The start-up biotechnology company hired its first employee 
     in 1987 and now has 33, making it the largest spin-off to 
     date from UAB health research activities, Bugg said. In 
     clinical trial is one potential drug for treating a rare form 
     of cancer, a drug that may also fight the skin disease 
     psoriasis.
       If the trials go well, BioCryst could start to make money 
     in several years.
       ``I hope we can,'' said William Spencer III, board member 
     and one of BioCryst's cofounders. ``We need a success in this 
     area.''
       Spencer said Birmingham investors have provided about $5 
     million of BioCryst's capitalization so far, some of them 10 
     years ago. ``I want for those people who had faith in the 
     thing to come out with a profit. It's certainly been a long 
     time.
       BioCryst's niche is structure-based drug design, an 
     approach to developing new drugs that promises faster, less 
     expensive development. As reviewed most recently by Bugg and 
     colleagues in ``Drugs by Design'' in the December issue of 
     Scientific American, the approach means learning the 
     molecular structure of a target enzyme in the human body and 
     then tailor-making drugs to impede that enzyme.
       The enzyme chosen as target in BioCryst's first round of 
     developmental drugs was purine nucleoside phosphorylase. One 
     inhibitor of this enzyme, made by Southern Research in 
     contract work, shows promise in early clinical trials with 
     psoriasis and the life-threatening cancer called T-cell 
     lymphoma.
       Since the PNP enzyme participates in a variety of ailments 
     known as ``auto-immune diseases''--where the body's immune 
     system attacks the body--further markets may exist. Ciba-
     Geigy has licensed another PNP inhibitor designed by BioCryst 
     to test on the auto-immune disease, rheumatoid arthritis. 
     This is potentially a $2 billion market, Bugg said.
       The psoriasis drug, which BioCryst is developing itself, 
     has a potential market of several million dollars, Bugg said.
       The potential exists to also attack other auto-immune 
     problems, such as rejection of transplanted organs--where 
     another drug already has a $700 million market, juvenile 
     diabetes, multiple sclerosis and lupus, Bugg said.
       Bugg, who has been at UAB 26 years, will continue to spend 
     10 percent of his time at the university next year.
       ``This is critical,'' he said, ``All the major products at 
     BioCryst have come out of the university.''
       UAB holds equity in BioCryst--originally 10 percent of the 
     company, but now down to about 2 to 4 percent. In return, 
     BioCryst gets first rights to UAB research done by scientists 
     who contract as BioCryst consultants.
       Fostering the success of BioCryst and other start-ups fits 
     a university mission to commercialize technology and make a 
     local contribution to the state economy, Bugg said.
       Bugg contrasted Birmingham with other hotbeds of academic 
     health-related research.
       ``You go to San Diego and there are 150 biotechnology 
     companies there,'' Bugg said. ``But the technology there is 
     no better than the science coming out of UAB.''
       Similarly, Birmingham has been slow to invest venture 
     capital, Spencer said.
       ``We've been told that if this thing was in the Boston area 
     or California, there'd be no trouble financing it.'' he said.
       Frederick Dechow, BioCryst president and chief executive 
     officer, will continue as president of the company next year. 
     At UAB, scientists and former shuttle astronaut Larry DeLucas 
     will take over Bugg's major academic appointment as director 
     of the Center for Macromolecular Crystallography.

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