Company: Sirtris, a GSK Company, Cambridge, MA
Entry Submitted By: Pure Communications Inc.
Company Description: Sirtris, a GSK company, is focused on creating revolutionary new medicines to treat diseases of aging, such as Type 2 Diabetes. Our research focus is on modulating the sirtuins, a recently discovered class of enzymes involved in the aging process. Sirtris is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and employs 71 people.
Nomination Category: Company Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Overall Company of the Year

Nomination Title: Sirtris: Creating Revolutionary Medicines for Diseases of Aging

   1. Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved since January 1 2008 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

          Sirtris, a GSK company, is a recognized leader in the research and development
          of medicines that target the sirtuins, a recently discovered family of enzymes
          that control the aging process.  A pioneer in its field, Sirtris’ drugs under
          development could potentially address a broad range of diseases of aging, such
          as Type 2 Diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurodegeneration.  The
          hot area of sirtuin research caught the world’s attention with the discovery
          that resveratrol — a natural ingredient in red wine — activates the sirtuins and
          could yield the positive health effects of calorie restriction (previous
          research has shown that reducing normal caloric intake by a third can extend
          lifespan). 

          Sirtris was founded in 2004 by Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., who has since
          served as Chief Executive Officer, and Harvard researcher David Sinclair, Ph.D.
           The relative rapidity with which Sirtris has advanced runs counter to the very
          high-risk nature of biotechnology, where the odds are highly stacked against
          survival. 

          Sirtris has made great strides since its inception only five years ago.  The
          excitement about the science of sirtuins enabled Sirtris’ successful IPO in May
          2007.  In 2008, the importance of the scientific developments at Sirtris
          garnered the attention of GlaxoSmithKline, which acquired Sirtris in June of
          2008 for $720 million – a “darling” deal in the eyes of Wall Street.  Indicative
          of his philosophy that people matter most, Dr. Westphal’s commitment to Sirtris
          Pharmaceuticals’ employees and investors factored heavily into the agreement
          with GSK.  Sirtris Pharmaceuticals became Sirtris – an independent discovery
          performance unit led by Dr. Westphal, with all employees and members of
          management remaining in place.  Sirtris’ employees and investors alike were
          pleased with the $720 million cash acquisition of the Company by GSK priced at
          $22.50 a share – a 125% premium to the company’s May 2007 initial public
          offering price of $10 a share.

          As evidence of a paradigm shift in the pharmaceutical industry toward an
          improved acquisition model, Sirtris continues to operate autonomously and
          maintain its unique, entrepreneurial culture.  Sirtris leadership encourages
          creativity and rewards the company’s values of People, Excellence, Trust,
          Respect and Urgency.  To that end, Sirtris offers a number of unexpected perks,
          including free lunch daily, biweekly lunch seminars, spinning and yoga classes,
          and company outings to Red Sox games.

          In addition to the excitement of the acquisition, 2008 was a momentous year on
          the scientific front with significant progress made with the clinical
          development of Sirtris’ drug candidates to address diseases of aging.  In
          January 2008, Sirtris announced positive results from a human clinical study
          showing that its proprietary formulation of resveratrol significantly lowers
          glucose in patients with Type 2 Diabetes.  Later in the year, Sirtris entered
          into the first human clinical trial of one of its novel compounds, which are
          structurally unrelated to resveratrol and up to 1,000 times more potent. 

          Now with the resources and muscle strength of GSK behind Sirtris, there’s an
          even better chance of making the company’s drug candidates a reality, offering
          the ability for people to live healthier, longer lives.

   2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

          60 Minutes, “Wine Rx,” January 25, 2009
          http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4752354n

          Newsweek, “Never Say Die,” December 15, 2008
          http://www.newsweek.com/id/172561

          Discover, Is Wine What Flows Through the Fountain of Youth?, October 2008
          http://discovermagazine.com/2008/oct/16-is-wine-what-flows-through-the-fountain-of-youth/?searchterm=Sirtris

          New York Times, “Hoping Two Drugs Carry a Side Effect:  Longer Life,” July 22, 2008
          http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/health/research/22long.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Hoping%20Two%20Drugs%20Carry%20a%20Side%20Effect&st=cse

          Wall Street Journal, “Glaxo to Buy Sirtris in Bet On Antiaging Research,” April
          23, 2008
          http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120892062008637405.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

          GlaxoSmithKline to acquire Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, a world leader in 'Sirtuin'
          research and development, April 22, 2008
          http://www.sirtrispharma.com/press/2008-042208.html

          ABC News Special hosted by Barbara Walters, “Can You Live to be 150?,” March 28,
          2008
          http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Longevity/story?id=4544003&page=1

          San Francisco Chronicle, “High hopes for diabetes drug that mimics healthy
          lifestyle effects,” January 8, 2008
          http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/08/BUMHUAM8U.DTL&hw=Sirtris&sn=001&sc=1000

          Sirtris Announces Positive Results with Proprietary Version of Resveratrol,
          SRT501, in a Phase 1b Type 2 Diabetes Clinical Study, January 7, 2008
          http://www.sirtrispharma.com/press/2008-010708.html

          Fortune, “Drink Wine and Live Longer,” cover story, February 5, 2007
          http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/02/05/8399158/index.htm

          Sirtris media highlights clip on YouTube:
          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_vJEeVdaKY

   3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:

          Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., co-founded Sirtris in 2004 and has since served
          as Chief Executive Officer.  In addition to leading Sirtris as an independent
          discovery performance unit within GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Dr. Westphal serves as
          the Senior Vice President of GSK’s Centre of Excellence for External Drug
          Discovery (CEEDD).

          Dr. Westphal is a co-founder of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY), Momenta
          Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MNTA), CoNCERT Pharmaceuticals and Acceleron Pharma.
          Dr. Westphal earned his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and Ph.D. in genetics
          from Harvard University.  He graduated with a B.A. summa cum laude and Phi Beta
          Kappa from Columbia University.