Rib-X Founder Gets Nobel Prize

Thomas Steitz, a Yale University chemist and co-founder of New Haven, CT-based Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry along with two other researchers for their use of X-ray crystallography to map the structure of ribosomes, according to the company. Rib-X says it has applied Steitz’s research in this area and computer modeling to design drugs to treat antibiotic-resistant infections. Steitz heads the scientific advisory board at Rib-X. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, a UK-based scientist who is sharing the Nobel Prize with Steitz, is also one of Rib-X’s scientific advisors.

Author: Ryan McBride

Ryan is an award-winning business journalist who contributes to our life sciences and technology coverage. He was previously a staff writer for Mass High Tech, a Boston business and technology newspaper, where he and his colleagues won a national business journalism award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2008. In recent years, he has made regular TV appearances on New England Cable News. Prior to MHT, Ryan covered the life sciences, technology, and energy sectors for Providence Business News. He graduated with honors from the University of Rhode Island in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. When he’s not chasing down news, Ryan enjoys mountain biking and skiing in his home state of Vermont.