Meso Researchers Honored as “Heroes of Chemistry"

September 18, 2006 - Three oncology researchers who led the discovery and development of the first drug approved to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) were recently honored by the American Cancer Society (ACS) as “Heroes of Chemistry.”

The researchers, Homer Pearce, Ph.D., Chuan (Joe) Shih, Ph.D., and Edward C. Taylor, Ph.D., led a collaboration between pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Princeton University that resulted in the compound ALIMTA®, the first drug ever approved for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma, caused by long-standing exposure to asbestos. ALIMTA, in combination with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, is indicated for the treatment of patients with MPM whose disease is unresectable or who are otherwise not candidates for curative surgery.  Alimta is now considered the first-line drug for treatment of mesothelioma in many countries throughout the world.

"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 development of Alimta, notes an article in Medical News Today, goes way back to the 1940s, when researchers discovered 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.  Researchers collaboration with Princeton began more than two decades ago, which demonstrates how long it sometimes takes to develop drugs to fight aggressive diseases like mesothelioma.  Alimta was introduced to the market in 2004.