Keith Hudson joins Caldera Health as Director of Research and Development

Prostate cancer diagnostics company, Caldera Health, has appointed Dr Keith Hudson as director of research and development.

Keith holds a PhD in immunology from the University of Auckland (1993) and spent five years conducting postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford then the University of Birmingham. He returned to New Zealand in 1998 and worked for Genesis Research and Development, leading a research programme which resulted in several patent applications and received in excess of NZ $6 million dollars in government funding. As Chief Scientific Officer, Cartesian Group, Keith was also instrumental in developing bioinformatics software that turned genomic DNA information into useable gene sequences using a patented pattern search technology. The initiative was subsequently spun out into a US analytical software company. 

Keith has since established a number of privately-held startup ventures including Androgenix, developing fertility enhancing products for the domestic livestock, and Pherotec, developing a novel estrus detection technology in dairy cows. Two patents awarded to Androgenix are currently being licensed.

Most recently he worked as chief editor of “Molecular Diagnosis and Therapy” and “BioDrugs” for academic publishing company, Adis-Springer, an Australasian subsidiary of the global scientific, technical and medical publishing giant, Springer.

Over his career Keith has been awarded three patents and has another patent application in progress and has received over $7 million in government finding. He has authored 18 refereed publications in scientific journals and written chapters in four books.  

“We’re delighted to have appointed a person of Keith’s calibre to lead our scientific, bioinformatics and clinical programmes and ready our products for commercialisation,” says Chairman, Alastair MacCormick. “He’s an experienced researcher with excellent credentials, proven leadership capability and a sound commercial background.”

“Keith is a gifted New Zealand scientist who has enjoyed an outstanding international science career and has considerable experience in the business of startup biotech companies,” says Jim Watson, Caldera’s scientific advisor. “He is a first-class choice to lead the next phase of Caldera’s research and development programme.”