Knighthood for Cyclacel's Top Scientist and Founder

DUNDEE - 7 January 2000 - Cyclacel Limited, the UK-based cancer therapeutics company, today announced that Professor David Lane, Cyclacel's Chief Scientific Officer and founder, has been awarded a Knighthood for services to medical science in the New Year's Honours List.

Professor Lane is widely acclaimed for his pioneering discoveries in the field of cell cycle control of cancer cells. These discoveries led the way for the cell cycle field to become an important focus of modern cancer research. Treatments arising from the understanding of the cancer cell cycle are attempting to mimic the function of the body's natural tumour suppressors in damaged cells and cause cancer cells to stop growing or be destroyed. Under Professor Lane's leadership, Cyclacel scientists are developing novel chemical drug candidates designed to act on cell cycle targets in a similar fashion to the body's own cancer suppression mechanisms.

On receiving his Knighthood, Sir David said: "I feel very privileged for this honour and the recognition it bestows on the cell cycle field. Our understanding of the importance of the cell cycle for designing new cancer drugs has grown enormously. Being closely involved in Cyclacel's research over the last two and a half years has been very gratifying as it has allowed me the opportunity to help develop new cancer drugs right up to the point of entering clinical trials in man. We are now poised to achieve this major milestone within 2000."