New Board appointment supports Ubiquigent’s pursuit of novel DUB modulators as new therapeutics to address areas of high unmet medical need
Dundee, UK, 24 October 2022: Ubiquigent Limited (Ubiquigent), a drug discovery and development company harnessing novel deubiquitylase (DUB) modulators as powerful new therapeutics, today announced the appointment of Dr Sheelagh Frame, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), to the Company’s Board of Directors. The appointment comes at a key stage in the Company’s development with the growing importance of the DUBs in drug discovery and will help drive the progress of Ubiquigent’s internal portfolio of novel DUB modulators, associated drug discovery programmes and commercial services.
Sheelagh joined Ubiquigent in 2018 as Head of Biology, before being promoted to CSO in 2021. During her time at Ubiquigent, Sheelagh has grown the team and operational capacity, expanded the suite of biochemical and cellular assays comprising its DUB-focused drug discovery platform, and progressed an IP portfolio of novel DUB modulators. She has over 25 years’ experience in drug discovery and development, having gained significant expertise on key drug targets in her previous roles as Program Manager and Translational Research Team Manager at Cyclacel Limited, primarily in oncology, but also spanning inflammation, diabetes, and rare diseases. Sheelagh has contributed to more than 50 scientific publications and completed her postdoctoral research at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, where she supported the validation and development of kinase inhibitors for anti-cancer therapy. She holds a PhD in Medicine from the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, affiliated with the University of Glasgow, and a BSc in Molecular Biology from the University of Edinburgh.
Dr Sheelagh Frame, CSO, Ubiquigent, said: “DUBs are rapidly emerging as exciting new drug targets to achieve targeted protein degradation and stabilisation. Ubiquigent sits at the forefront of the DUB space, and I am delighted to be joining the Board at such an important time as we progress novel modalities that exploit DUBs and the UPS towards clinical realisation.”
Jason Mundin, CEO, Ubiquigent, commented: “Sheelagh has made a tremendous contribution to Ubiquigent since joining us in 2018. I am extremely pleased that she has now joined our Board and look forward to continuing to work with her as Ubiquigent enters the next stage of its development.”
Dr Mark Treherne, Chairman of the Board, Ubiquigent, added: “We are so pleased to welcome Sheelagh to the Board, bringing with her a wealth of impressive achievements and her close ties with the R&D and Operational teams in Dundee. We are confident that Sheelagh’s contributions will continue to significantly advance our core mission of enabling DUB-focused drug discovery and development for areas of high unmet medical need, especially as we focus on developing our in-house drug discovery pipeline.”
In recognition of her inspiring contributions to science and business, Sheelagh has recently been shortlisted for the Women’s Business Club Awards in the C-suite category, Scotland. To find out more, visit womensbusiness.club/awards.
To learn more about Ubiquigent’s DUB-focused drug discovery capabilities and services, including partnerships and in-licensing, contact partnerships@ubiquigent.com