Beringen, Flemish Region, Belgium
Medicinal chemist with 20 years experience in drug discovery - from screening, hit-to-lead, and lead optimization to candidate selection and early development - in startup and large pharmaceutical, managing both internal and fully outsourced teams and projects.
• Co-leading Galapagos Medicinal Chemistry Department (+100 bench chemists, internal, in- and outsourced FTE's) • Member of general research and therapeutic area specific research leadership teams • Group leader Medicinal Chemistry - Covering projects in virology, immunology and oncology • Project leader Medicinal Chemistry - Oncology project Hit-finding (DEL/HTS/Virtual Screen on covalent and non-covalent chemotypes) Lead optimization (supported by FEP/ML/ADME prediction) - Virology hit-finding project
Group leader Medicinal Chemistry (metabolic/covid-19) • Project leader on Coronavirus 3Clpro inhibitors in collaboration with CD3-Cistim/Rega (KULeuven) • Selection of orally available, pan-coronaviral 3Clpro inhibitor, clinical candidate ALG-097558 (ongoing, phase 1), without ritonavir boost • Fully outsourced chemistry/ADME-PK
• Established first Aligos Leuven chemistry labs for organic synthesis (empty without fumehoods to functional) and analytics/purification (LC-MS/Biotage chromatography instruments) in the bioincubator building • Project leader Medicinal Chemistry • Oncology: PRMT5 (nucleoside/heterocyclic chemistry) • THR beta-agonist (heterocyclic chemistry) with in- and outsourced chemistry, resulting in clinical candidate ALG-055009, currently in clinical trials (phase 2a).
Group leader HBV discovery chemistry • Projects from screening (HTS, library selection), hit-finding, hit-to-lead (H2L) to lead optimisation (LO) • Managed internal and external chemists • 2017 J&J Philip B. Hofmann research scientist award
Project leader of multidisciplinary early development team • Start of GLP-tox, clinical trial application and first-in-human dosing. • Reported at multiple internal leadership meetings (discovery and early development infectious diseases, HBV Disease Area Stronghold (DAS), first-in-human committee etc.) and external meetings (clinical investigator meeting, Key Opinion Leader meetings etc.).
Project leader Medicinal Chemistry • HCV NS5a: selection clinical candidate JNJ-47910382 (phase 1b) • NS5a back-up project and HBV capsid project Relevant reference: Vandyck, K.; Last, S. J.; Houpis, I. N.; Raboisson, P. J.-M. B. Preparation of benzimidazole-imidazoles end-capped with peptide derivatives as HCV replication inhibitors for treating hepatitis C. PCT Int. Appl. (2011), WO 2011054834
Medicinal/Organic project chemist on HCV Polymerase, non-nucleoside (heterocyclic chemistry) and nucleoside inhibitors. Relevant references: Antiviral Uracyl spirooxetane nucleosides PCT Int. Appl. (2010), WO 2010130726 Preparation of uracyl cyclopropyl nucleotides as HCV antiviral agents. PCT Int. Appl. (2010), WO 2010066699
Project Organic/Medicinal Chemist on HIV Protease (peptidomimetic chemistry) and HCV Polymerase (nucleoside chemistry) Relevant references: Vandyck, K. et al. Structure-Based Design of a Benzodiazepine Scaffold Yields a Potent Allosteric Inhibitor of Hepatitis C NS5B RNA Polymerase J. Med. Chem. 2009, 52, 14, 4099-4102. Raboisson, P.; Vandyck, K. et al 1,1-Dioxo-1-thia-5,10-diazadibenzocycloheptenes useful as hepatitis C virus inhibitors and their preparation and use in the treatment of hepatitis C infection. WO 2008099020
Synthesis and application of rigid C2-symmetric bidentate ligands (Prof. Dr. J. Van der Eycken) Relevant references: Vandyck, K. et al. Rhodium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Conjugate Additions of Boronic Acids to Enones Using DIPHONANE: A Novel Chiral Bisphosphine Ligand. Organic Letters 2006, 8, 3, 363-366 Noël , T.; Vandyck, K.; Van der Eycken, J.. Preparation of cyclic imidate ligands. WO 2010115903