UCT graduate wins pharmaceutical Oscar

Pioneer: UCT graduate Prof Michael Hayden has won the prestigious 2007 Prix Galien Canada, dubbed the Oscar of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology world. (Image courtesy of Filmwest Associates)

UCT alumnus Professor Michael Hayden has received the prestigious 2007 Prix Galien Canada, dubbed the Oscar of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology world.

Hayden, now a professor of medical genetics at the University of British Columbia in Canada, won the accolade for his "pioneering, ground-breaking" medical research.

The Cape Town-born geneticist pioneered the development of predictive testing for Huntington's disease, a rare inherited neurological disorder.

Hayden, who co-founded three pharmaceutical companies, helped determine how specific genes lead to the disease, as well as premature coronary artery disease and diabetes. Recently, he provided the first evidence of a cure for Huntington's disease.

"I feel like a student just starting out," he is quoted in a recent article in the newspaper Vancouver Sun. "There are so many things yet to be discovered.'

Hayden, a multi-award winning student, graduated from UCT with a medical degree in 1975 and a PhD in genetics in 1979. He is currently spearheading a fundraising campaign to build a centre for at-risk youth in Cape Town.