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Behind the discovery is Danish researcher and pharmacologist Anette Sams PhD. Back in the 1990s, she studied a particular molecule with great potential. A quarter of a century on, her dream of developing a life-saving drug is alive and well, and she’s ready to begin an exciting new chapter in her biotech adventure.

The treatment is based on new versions of the neurotransmitter known as neuropeptide or calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). In recent years, Sams and her team have been developing and testing these new, optimised versions of the neurotransmitter, which are more suitable for use in medicines than the naturally occurring form. If she succeeds in her mission, it could save millions of lives around the world.

‘One effect of the neurotransmitter is to dilate small blood vessels, which improves blood flow in the heart muscles after a clot. The new versions retain the ability to do this and have proven surprisingly effective in animal studies,’ says Paul E.G. Kristjansen, Senior Scientific Director at the Lundbeck Foundation and head of its special Frontier Grants programme.