Total GCOB Grant Portfolio

Abstracts for all projects can be found in CRISP.

Archived Information and Awards for Previous Initiatives

Accomplishments from the Biochemistry and Pharmacology Portfolio

Marketed Agents or Manufacturing Processes Developed with Substantial NCI Grant Support

Azidothymidine (AZT), which is also called Zidovudine, was first synthesized on an NCI grant in 1964 by Dr. Jerome Horwitz, Wayne State University, as a treatment for cancer. The compound was not successful as a cancer agent, but was examined in the 1980s as a possible treatment for AIDS. AZT, a reverse transcriptase inhibitor, was the first drug approved for the treatment of AIDS. It was patented in 1986 and developed to clinical trial by Burroughs Wellcome Co (now GlaxoSmithKline) for the treatment of AIDS . It was approved for use against HIV and AIDS on March 20, 1987 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Stavudine (d4T) was first synthesized on an NCI grant in 1966 by Dr. Jerome Horwitz, Wayne State University, as a possible treatment for cancer. It was re-synthesized by Drs. Tai-Shun Lin and William Prusoff, Yale University on NCI grant CA-28852. They discovered the anti-HIV/AIDS activity of d4T and patented their discovery, which was approved on December 18, 1990. Like AZT, d4T is also a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. Yale licensed the product to Bristol-Myers Squibb, and the New Drug Application (NDA) was approved on June 24, 1994.
Fludarabine (Fludara) was synthesized by John A. Montgomery, Southern Research Institute, Birmingham, AL, on P01 CA34200. The compound was patented and licensed to Berlex Laboratories. The compound was approved for marketing by the FDA on April 18, 1991 for the treatment of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Clofarabine (Clofar) was co-invented by John (Jack) A. Secrist, Southern Research Institute, on P01 CA34200. This compound was approved by the FDA on December 28, 2004 for the treatment of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukema (ALL). It is currently manufactured by Genzyme.
Dr. Robert A. Holton, Florida State University, invented a practical semi-synthetic synthesis of Taxol with NCI grant support that made multi-institutional clinical trials possible. He patented the process in 1989 and licensed it to Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1990. Taxol (Paclitaxel) was approved for the treatment of ovarian cancer by the FDA in 1992.

For marketed agents from the National Cooperative Drug Discovery Group Program, refer to the NCDDG section of this website.

Awards & Research Highlights of the GCOB Portfolio

Awards:

Stephen J. Lippard, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Lippard was selected to receive the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest scientific honor. Lippard was cited "for his pioneering research in bioinorganic chemistry, including the interaction of metal compounds with DNA, preparation of synthetic models for metalloproteins, and structural and mechanistic studies of methan monooxygenase." President George W. Bush presented the award to Lippard at the White House.
Susan Band Horwitz, Ph.D., whose pioneering research helped lead to the development of the anti-cancer drug Taxol, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Horwitz, president of the American Association for Cancer Research from 2002-2003, is the holder of the Rose C. Falkenstein Chair in Cancer Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, N.Y.

Research in her laboratory focuses on the development of drugs derived from natural products for the treatment of malignancies, and the problem of drug resistance. Taxol, isolated from the yew tree, works at the molecular level to arrest cell growth and induce cell death. The drug has been approved to treat ovarian, breast and lung cancers.

Dr. Horwitz is one of 72 new members elected to the Academy at its 142nd annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

On October 13, 2004, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg paid tribute to New York City’s brightest and most innovative scientists and engineers at the 2004 Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in Science and Technology. In the category of Biological and Medical Sciences, one winner was Susan B. Horwitz, Rose Falkenstein Professor of Cancer Research, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
American Chemical Society Awards for 2004 involving grantees funded by the Biochemistry and Pharmacology Program:

Ronald T. Raines, University of Wisconsin, Madison: Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award
Stephen J. Lippard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Alfred Bader Award in Bioinorganic or Bioorganic Chemistry
Richard A. Houghten, Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies & Mixture Sciences, San Diego: Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry
On April 23, 2003, the American Chemical Society (ACS) honored RTI International and its Natural Products Laboratory with a National Historic Chemical Landmark commemorating the discovery of Taxol and Camptothecin by Dr. Mansukh Wani and the late Dr. Monroe Wall. This award followed the Charles F. Kettering Prize given to Drs. Wall and Wani by the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation on June 7, 2000 for their seminal work in the discovery of these two agents.
Dr. Robert Langer was selected by Forbes Magazine (2002) as one of the 15 innovators worldwide who will reinvent our future. Time Magazine and CNN (2001) named Langer as one of the 100 most important people in America and one of the top 18 people in science or medicine. In 2002, Langer received the $500,000 Charles Stark Draper Prize, considered the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for engineers and the world’s most prestigious engineering prize, from the National Academy of Engineering.
The National Academy of Sciences elected 72 new members and 18 foreign associates from 11 countries for calendar year 2003. Two chemists supported by the Biochemistry and Pharmacology Program were among the awardees: Robert M. Stroud, University of California at San Francisco and Paul A. Wender, Stanford University.
Amos B. Smith III has been named Rhodes-Thompson Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, a Centenary Lecturer for the 2002-2003 academic year. The honor was bestowed by the Royal Society of Chemistry and includes a silver medal and an honorarium.
Stephen J. Lippard, Arthur Amos Noyes Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received the Basolo Award on October 18, 2002 for his work in inorganic chemistry. The award was given by Northwestern University and cosponsored by the Chicago Section of the American Chemical Society. Dr. Lippard’s research has focused on metal ions and has led to a better understanding of the mechanism of action of cisplatin in the interactions with DNA and to the function of enzymes involved in energy metabolism.
David G.K. Kingston, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia, has been named “Virginia Outstanding Scientist of 2002" by the Science Museum of Virginia and the Office of the Governor. Dr. Kingston is well known for his research on anticancer agents found in nature. His work on the structure of Taxol has provided insights on its tubulin-binding properties and led to the creation of new compounds with improved potency.
Alan C. Sartorelli, Ph.D., Alfred Gilman Professor of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, received the 2001 Cain Award on March 27, 2001 at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research. The Cain Award recognizes outstanding preclinical research in the fields of medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, or tumor biology related to drug discovery, leading to the improved care of cancer patients.
Enrico Mihich, M.D., Director of the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, received the Thomas B. Tomasi Achievement Award from the Roswell Park Alliance on February 3, 2001. Dr. Mihich was cited for his long and illustrious career, including many research contributions such as the demonstration of the essential role of host defense mechanisms in the therapeutic effects of various anticancer treatments in laboratory models.
Ronald T. Raines, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. Raines was appointed as a 2001 Guggenheim Fellow in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
Stuart L. Schreiber, Ph.D., Morris Leob Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and cofounder and director of the Harvard Institute of Chemistry and Cell Biology (ICCB). Schreiber received the 2001 Chiron Corporation Biotechnology Research Award for using chemistry to address complex and fundamental problems in biology and for furthering the new fields of chemical biology and chemical genetics.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program:

2001 Tibbets Award: White Point Systems, Inc., Friday Harbor, Washington
Development of database products, including NAPIS (Natural Products Information System), and related services that support natural products research. Contact: Mr. Gregg Dietzman

1998 Tibbetts Award: Hawaii Biotechnology Group, Inc. (HBG)
Development of immunoassays for application to laboratory, medical, environmental and agricultural problems. Contact: Dr. Tom Humphreys

Merit Awardees:

Samuel J. Danishefsky, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Research Center “Synthesis of Natural Products Research”	R37 CA 28824-26
Igor B. Roninson, University of Illinois “Human Multidrug Resistance (P-Glycoprotein) Genes”	R37 CA 40333
Andrew G. Myers, Harvard University “Natural and Non-natural DNA Cleaving Agent”	R37 CA 47148
Stephen J. Lippard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology “Chemistry and Biology of Platinum Anticancer Drugs”	R37 CA 34992
Yoshito Kishi, Harvard University “Synthesis of Antitumor Natural Products”	R37 CA 22215
Joseph R. Bertino, Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research “Mechanism of Action of Folate Antagonists"	R37 CA 08010

Research Highlights: