A British pioneer of laboratory-produced “monoclonal” antibodies used in some of the most advanced medicines today has won a share of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Professor Sir Gregory Winter, from the University of Cambridge, was awarded a quarter share of the nine million Swedish krona (£770,000) prize money.

The honour recognises his work using a technique called “phage display” to produce new pharmaceutical drugs.

The process involves harnessing viruses that infect bacteria, known as bacteriophages, to evolve novel proteins.

Antibodies are used in a host of ways to neutralise toxins, counteract autoimmune diseases and tackle spreading cancer.

Sir Gregory’s American co-laureates are Professor Frances Arnold, from the California Institute of Technology, and Professor George Smith, from the University of Missouri.

Prof Arnold, who picks up half the award, conducted the first directed evolution of enzymes – proteins that catalyse chemical reactions.

US biochemical engineer Frances Arnold
US biochemical engineer Frances Arnold (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/AP)

Prof Smith developed the technique of phage display later adopted by Sir Gregory.

The awards were announced at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm.

In its citation, the Nobel committee said: “The 2018 Nobel Laureates in chemistry have taken control of evolution and used it for purposes that bring the greatest benefit to humankind.

“Enzymes produced through directed evolution are used to manufacture everything from biofuels to pharmaceuticals.

“Antibodies evolved using a method called phage display can combat autoimmune diseases and in some cases cure metastatic cancer.”

Sir Gregory, the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, has followed a research career based almost entirely in Cambridge at the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology and the Centre for Protein Engineering.

He also founded three Cambridge biotech companies based on his discoveries: Cambridge Antibody Technology, Domantis and Bicycle Therapeutics.

Immunologist Professor Dan Davies, from the University of Manchester, said: “This is thrilling. The use of phage display to create new antibodies has been exceptionally important in science and medicine.

“As one example, Humira, developed with this technology, is used by thousands of people for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.

“With this medicine, far fewer people with rheumatoid arthritis are forced to use a wheelchair.”

Phage display, first described by Prof Smith in 1985, involves generating millions of bacteriophages genetically engineered to display different proteins or protein building blocks on their surfaces. These proteins can then be tested to see if they bind with specific molecular targets.

In this way the bacteriophages can be used as a screening library for potentially therapeutic proteins.

Sir Gregory, 67, said that early in his research he had no idea that antibodies would become so valuable to the pharmaceutical industry.

He said: “In the 1990s the pharmaceutical industry was run by chemists. As far as they were concerned a pharmaceutical drug was a chemical.

“People didn’t really believe antibodies would be therapeutic. These are great big proteins.

“It was the biotech companies who took it on board.”

He said that as a scientist he had already tried to keep his feet “on the ground”.

“It’s very easy to have vision. It’s very difficult to have visions that you can realise practically,” said Sir Gregory.

He admitted that his first wife “really had to suffer” because of his work, and admitted that for him science was “a bit like a drug addiction”.