Student Becomes Rich After Selling Firm To Novo Nordisk: Ziylo Molecules Will Transform Diabetes Treatment
There is no easy way to make money, and this university student might seem that he’s become a millionaire overnight, but there’s more to it.
PhD student Harry Destecroix, his professor Anthony Davis from the University of Bristol and businessman Tom Smart have created a firm called Ziylo which was recently bought by Novo Nordisk of Denmark.
Why did this firm caught the global healthcare giant’s attention? The biotech company was sold for over £620million because it has developed glucose-responsive insulin, which could immensely change diabetes treatment.
According to the University of Bristol, the deal is beneficial for all people with diabetes in the world, because Novo Nordisk is the leader in the diabetes field.
Dr. Destecroix might get £143million from the deal, having 23% of the shares. On his Twitter account, he stated that he was ‘really excited’ by the deal:
“It’s all a bit overwhelming. But for me this is just the start — hopefully we can inspire other scientists.”
What Is The Ziylo Molecule?
Over 382 million people in the world have diabetes. In their study to find a better type of insulin, the team at Ziylo found a molecule that at first wasn’t a surprise:
“It wasn’t a surprise when the discovery was made two years ago. When we saw the properties it had, we were astounded. If you had an insulin you couldn’t really overdose on, that would be really exciting.”
Everyone that has Type 1 diabetes and some people with Type 2 diabetes must take insulin to keep the blood glucose at normal levels. The technology developed by Ziylo could make insulin react and adapt to the levels of sugar in the blood so that people with the condition can control their metabolism and avoid the risk of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.
Dr. Destecroix believes that developing a better insulin treatment should rest in the hands of Novo Nordisk, because they are “the ideal company to maximise the potential of the Ziylo glucose binding molecules in glucose responsive insulins and diabetes applications, and it brings hope of a truly ground-breaking treatment to diabetes patients.”
The next step that Novo Nordisk will take is to develop the new type of insulin with this molecule. They will continue the research and start clinical trials. However, the new treatment might take ten years to come to market.
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.
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