Connexin Biology
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Team Leader -
Professor Colin Green
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The Connexin Biology team is led by Professor Colin Green who holds the W & B
Hadden Chair of Ophthalmology and Translational Vision Research. The Connexin Biology
Team has a primary focus on wound healing and tissue regeneration. Research is conducted
on gap junction channel modulation for corneal repair, spinal cord and optic nerve
injury, glaucoma, macular degeneration, neurodegenerative diseases and epilepsy.
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CERPIS Team (CEllular Reprogramming In Situ) - (from left) Jane McGhee, Associate
Professor Trevor Sherwin, Dr Ally Chang, Professor Colin Green
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Two platforms, connexin specific antisense oligodeoxynucleotides and connexin mimetic
peptides have proven effective in the treatment of wounds, providing reduced inflammation
and oedema, less scarring and faster wound closure. As the treatments limit lesion
spread they are especially effective is nerve sparing after injury to the central
nervous system, including the retina and optic nerve. They have proven effective
in clinical trials for chronic wounds and in compassionate use in patients with
severe non-healing ocular burns.
The involvement of connexins in ischaemic optic neuropathy (ION), retinal ischemia
and glaucoma is a major focus with Professor Helen Danesh-Meyer’s Optic Nerve and
Glaucoma team. The group is using connexin mimetic peptides that when delivered
systemically are able to provide significant retinal ganglion cell sparing after
retinal ischemia. The team is also using connexin specific antisense oligodeoxynucleotides
which are proving beneficial after glaucoma surgery to decrease inflammation and
scar formation at the surgical site, and consequently improve surgical outcomes.
The delivery of these wound healing products in the ocular environment is the basis
of the team’s collaboration with Dr Ilva Rupenthal who is heading up the Department
of Ophthalmology’s ocular pharmaceutics team. This work focuses on the retention
and stability of the active agent in different delivery systems and efficacy of
delivery. This work extends to Macular Degeneration and collaborations with Dr Monica
Acosta (Optometry) and Dr Philip Polkinghorne (Ophthalmology).
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Connexin Biology Team at the Grand Canyon - (back row) Joanne Davidson, Professor
Colin Green, Dr Jinny Yoon, (front row) Professor Louise Nicholson, Jie Zhang, Dr
Simon O'Carroll, Carthur Won
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In the central nervous system the team works on spinal cord injury, investigating
nerve treatments and repair strategies with connexin knockdown or connexon channel
block agents, and peripheral nerve grafts or nanofibre technologies for lesion repair.
The possibility of using autologous ocular pluripotent cells to help repopulate
spinal cord neurons is also being investigated with Associate Professor Trevor Sherwin.
Perinatal brain ischemia studies are being carried out with Professor Alistair Gunn
and Professor Laura Bennet’s fetal physiology group (Physiology), and Professor
Louise Nicholson’s group in the Centre for Brain Research. Work with Professor Louise
Nicholson’s team and Associate Professor Bronwen Conner (Centre for Brain Research)
is investigating gap junction roles, and regulation of gap junctions, for neurodegenerative
diseases of the brain, stroke, as well as central nervous system regeneration and
CNS repair strategies.
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Dr Ally Chang
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Corneal stem cells and cell reprogramming is a research interest with Associate
Professor Trevor Sherwin’s CORnEa laboratory group. The team is investigating how
the supposed corneal stem cell is regulated and how cells repopulate a wound to
the front of the eye. The group has discovered that corneal fibroblastic cells can
be directly reprogrammed into nerves opening new possibilities for tissue engineering
and regeneration in a range of tissues. Wound healing and corneal disease work is
also carried out with Cornea and Anterior Segment Research Group led by Professor
Charles McGhee, Dr Dipika Patel, Dr Sue Ormonde, Associate Professor Trevor Sherwin
and Professor Green.
The Connexin Biology Group maintains active international collaborations including
with colleagues at the University of New South Wales, University College London,
University of Technology Sydney, University of Queensland, University of Medicine
and Dentistry New Jersey, Northwestern University Chicago, and Kingston University
UK.
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The Connexin Biology Team acknowledges financial support from the RSNZ Marsden Fund,
The School of Medicine Foundation, New Zealand Health Research Council, Save Sight
Society of New Zealand, Glaucoma New Zealand, Maurice & Phyllis Paykel Trust,
Auckland Medical Research Foundation, the CatWalk Trust and an endowment from W&B
Hadden.
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CoDa Therapeutics
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CoDa Therapeutics - Professors David Becker and Colin Green
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CoDa Therapeutics (NZ) Ltd is a biotechnology company formed in 2004 by Professor
Colin Green and Professor David Becker. Professor Green is the W & B Hadden
Chair of Ophthalmology and Translational Vision Science in the Department of Ophthalmology,
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Auckland and Dr Becker is
Professor in Cell and Developmental biology at University College, London, England.
CoDa Therapeutics (NZ) Ltd evolved from research into gap junction proteins and cell
to cell communication and the potential to interrupt the cell to cell communication
when an injury/insult is sustained by an organ/tissue.
At the inception of CoDa Therapeutics (NZ) Ltd Mr Aki von Roy, an ex-president of
the major pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb, was appointed as the Chief
Executive. The company subsequently expanded in 2006 with the establishment of
CoDa Therapeutics Inc., (USA) in Diego, USA. and CoDa appointed Mr Brad Duff, a
biotechnology industry veteran, as CEO of CoDa Therapeutics Inc. (USA). CoDa has
subsequently raised funding for clinical trials exceeding US$43 million (NZ$56 million).
CoDa has obtained approval from the USA Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to launch
Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials which started in 2007, for the testing of Nexagon
in both eye and skin indications.
NZBio Deal of the Year
On 12th March 2007 CoDa Therapeutics (NZ) received the inaugural NZBio Deal of the
Year award in recognition for the outstanding success of the company in the past
12 months. Nominations for the NZBio Deal of the year were received from a variety
of biotechnology companies including human health and nutrition, cancer therapy,
and mergers and fundraising. Entries were judged on five criteria; financial impact
of the deal, strategic importance to New Zealand, barriers/obstacles overcome, teamwork
required to achieve end result and finally persistence! NZ Bio’s then CEO Brian
Ward stated that “CoDa stood out because of several factors, including; the persistence
of Dr Colin Green over a number of years to take this technology forward, the first
round fundraising of US$20 million, which is substantial even by US standards, and
the company’s plans to run the first clinical trials in New Zealand”. This award
is a result of the hard work of Professor Green and his team over several years
and recognition of their achievements makes them deserved winners of the New Zealand
biotech sector’s award.
