14 September 2009
Cancer wonder drug recognised with Lasker Award for Dundee alumnus
A University of Dundee alumnus has received one of the most prestigious awards in science and medicine for his work in developing a drug that has saved thousands of lives and revolutionised the field of cancer drug discovery.
Dr Nicholas Lydon (52) was given the 2009 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, along with Dr Brian Druker and Dr Charles Sawyers, for 'the development of molecularly-targeted treatments for chronic myeloid leukemia, converting a fatal cancer into a manageable chronic condition.'
A Lasker Award is regarded as being second only to a Nobel Prize in terms of prestige, and 76 Lasker laureates have also received a Nobel for their work in medical research.
Prior to Gleevec, chronic myeloid leukemia, or CML, was treated by chemotherapy, radiotherapy and bone marrow transplants. Dr Lydon and his colleagues developed and tested the 'magic bullet' drug that attacks only the molecule responsible for causing CML rather than healthy cells within the body as well.
'My vision was to come up with a small molecule drug that would specifically bind to this protein, and not to other proteins in the body that use the same mechanism,' explained Dr Lydon.
'Our expectation was not that we would get these amazing results. We were a bit more tempered in our expectations, but it was an extremely exciting time for me.'
Dr Lydon received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Dundee’s Department of Biochemistry in 1982. He worked for Schering-Plough in France before moving to Ciba-Geigy (later to merge with Sandoz to become Novartis), in Basel, Switzerland where much of the work in developing Gleevec was carried out.
Gleevec has saved the lives of thousands of sufferers of both CML and gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST), as well as having an immeasurable impact on cancer drug discovery.
Dr Lydon was nominated for the Lasker Award by Professor Sir Philip Cohen, one of the world’s leading biochemists, who is based at the University of Dundee. It was through conversing with colleagues in Sir Philip’s Dundee lab that Dr Lydon first became interested in protein kinases, which formed the basis of the research that ultimately led to the development of Gleevec.
Professor Mike Ferguson, Dean of Research at the College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee congratulated Dr Lydon on his award.
'The award of the prestigious Lasker prize to Nick Lydon and his colleagues is richly deserved, as the many patients treated and saved with it will no doubt agree,' he said.
'The story of Gleevec is a legend in the field of modern drug discovery and a great example of how excellent science leads to new breakthroughs in clinical treatment. It is an inspiration to us that one of our former PhD students has had such a massive impact on medical science and on the welfare of cancer patients.'
Gleevec has revolutionised the world of cancer drug discovery and therapy by its mode of action, which, like a magic bullet, specifically targets a cancer-causing molecule, killing abnormal cells and avoiding damage to normal cells.
Rather than aiming at rapidly proliferating cells and provoking toxic side effects, as standard chemotherapeutic agents do, the team stymied the single rogue enzyme that triggers CML-a tactic that most scientists predicted would fail. Many potential drugs for cancer that attack specific troublesome molecules are now in development
The remarkable efficacy of Gleevec has had a profound impact on the perception of protein kinases as therapeutic targets. From being considered to be virtually 'undruggable' targets in 1994, nearly 30% of the entire R&D effort of the pharmaceutical industry and 50-70% of cancer drug discovery R&D had become focused on protein kinases by 2006.
The University of Dundee continues to play a very significant role in kinase-based therapeutic development. Professor Sir Philip Cohen leads a consortium of leading academics, in collaboration with five major pharmaceutical companies, to provide cutting edge ideas and opportunities for drug discovery.
The University’s Drug Discovery Unit is exploiting kinases as targets to treat neglected tropical diseases such as human African sleeping sickness and leishmaniasis.
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