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Source: Eli Lilly
Alimta Researchers Recognized As Heroes Of Chemistry
Three researchers who led the discovery and development of the first drug approved to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a cancer associated with exposure to asbestos, were named as Heroes of Chemistry by the American Chemical Society (ACS). Researchers Homer Pearce, Ph.D., Chuan (Joe) Shih, Ph.D., and Edward C. Taylor, Ph.D., led a long-standing collaboration between Eli Lilly and Company and Princeton University that resulted in the compound ALIMTA(R) (pemetrexed for injection), the first drug ever approved for the treatment of MPM. ALIMTA, in combination with cisplatin, is indicated for the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma whose disease is unresectable or who are otherwise not candidates for curative surgery.
The scientists received the award on September 10 at the ACS national meeting in San Francisco.
"Heroes save lives and change them for the better," said ACS President E. Ann Nalley, Ph.D. "This year's Heroes of Chemistry have improved our lives through their inventions. We at ACS celebrate them and the corporate management that supports innovations that bring the benefits of chemistry to us all, every day."
The Heroes of Chemistry program, initiated by ACS in 1996, highlights the vital work of industrial chemical scientists and their companies in improving human welfare through successful commercial breakthroughs and products. This year's Heroes of Chemistry award honors scientists whose innovations have led to the benefit and progress of humanity in the past decade.
Although just approved for MPM in 2004, the rich history of the discovery of ALIMTA dates back to the 1940s, demonstrating the life-long commitment often needed in drug discovery. In the 1940s, researchers found that certain molecules that interfere with folic acid might delay the spread of cancer by disrupting the ability of tumors to process the folates that are necessary for cell survival. In December 1985, Princeton's Taylor began a long-term collaboration with scientists at Lilly to further evaluate the promise of these molecules that resulted in several potential drugs.
The Lilly team, led by Pearce and Shih, closely examined the biochemical properties of the molecule that would become ALIMTA. The team found that this exciting molecule could simultaneously target and block at least three key folate-requiring enzymes (thymidylate synthetase; dihydrofolate reductase; and glycinamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase) that cancer cells need for cell division and tumor growth. The Lilly-Princeton collaborators theorized that this multi-targeted action was the reason for the compound's potentially promising anti-tumor activity in mesothelioma. More than a decade after the partnership was formed, following additional development and pivotal clinical trials, ALIMTA received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2004, bringing new hope to patients suffering from MPM.
ALIMTA is also paving the way for the medical breakthroughs of tomorrow. A new state-of-the-art chemistry building at Princeton University was financed by royalty payments from Lilly to Princeton based on the commercial success of ALIMTA. This guarantees that a new generation of innovative scientists will follow in the footsteps of Drs. Pearce, Shih and Taylor.
About the Researchers
Texas-born Homer Pearce, Ph.D., spent the last 27 years discovering and developing cancer therapies at Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis. Pearce received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Harvard University in 1979. In addition to his renowned leadership in clinical research, Pearce is recognized as an avid supporter of cancer education and patient advocacy, evidenced by his service as board member for the Little Red Door Cancer Agency, Indianapolis Hope Lodge and the American Cancer Society Foundation - Great Lakes Region. Pearce, now retired, is a former vice president of cancer research at Lilly.
Born in Taiwan, and the son of a physician, Chuan (Joe) Shih, Ph.D., is a distinguished research fellow at Lilly. Shih received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from The Ohio State University in 1982. Shih attests to a fascination with the composition of life and the matters that surround us as his driving motivation to pursue a life-long career in chemistry and clinical research.
Perhaps one of the most renowned chemists today, Edward C. Taylor, Ph.D., is a professor emeritus with the Princeton University Department of Chemistry. Taylor received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Cornell University in 1949. Taylor is the author of over 450 scientific papers and 52 U.S. patents on heterocyclic chemistry, organothallium chemistry, natural product chemistry, medicinal chemistry and synthetic methodology.
About ALIMTA and Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM)
ALIMTA is an antifolate that imultaneously blocks three separate enzyme targets important to the formation of basic building blocks by which cancer cells grow and divide.
In February 2004, ALIMTA, in combination with cisplatin, became the first
and only chemotherapy drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients
with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM)
whose disease is unresectable or who are otherwise not candidates for
curative surgery. The tumor in this particularly lethal cancer actually
surrounds the lung, so as the tumor grows the dynamics of breathing are
limited because the lungs are squeezed and the diaphragm is depressed.
In many cases, the effects of MPM lead patients to die due to internal
suffocation. Each year, there are 3,000 new cases in the US and 10,000-15,000
new cases globally. The incidence rate is expected to increase due to
a latency period of 20-50 years.
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