Chronos Therapeutics could be the validation of the biotech model, says CEO Huw Jones

From its academic origins to its innovative assets, bold business strategy and the targeting of an unmet need, Chronos Therapeutics is the sort of company which embodies the biotech revolution.

This privately-held UK biotech, which focuses on aging diseases, brain and central nervous system (CNS) disorders, was formed in 2009 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford.

Its progress since then includes the development of an extensive library of re-purposed molecules showing promise for brain and neurological diseases and a highly promising lead compound, RDC5, for the fatal neurodegenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). Then last week came the acquisition of three pre-clinical development programs from a subsidiary of Ireland-headquartered Shire (LSE: SHP).