Edgardo Laborde

Edgardo Laborde, 59, executive director of chemistry at Telik in Palo Alto, Calif., died of cancer on Sept. 27.

Born in Rosario, Uruguay, Laborde obtained a B.S. in pharmacy from the University of the Republic, in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1979 before earning a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, under Joseph Marino in 1984.

Laborde dedicated his professional life to the discovery of drugs for the relief of human suffering. After working as a research fellow at Parke-Davis from 1988 until 1993, he was a senior research scientist at DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical until 1994 and a staff scientist at Ariad Pharmaceuticals before joining the biopharmaceutical company Telik, then Terrapin Technologies, in 1997.

Laborde applied his synthetic and medicinal chemistry skills to drug discovery efforts in antibiotics, neuroscience, inflammation, and cancer. During his 14 years at Telik, Laborde built the chemistry department and was involved in the discovery and development of several clinical candidates in the oncology field. Laborde published extensively throughout his career and was granted numerous patents. He joined ACS in 1982.

He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Laura, and daughters, Ana and Andrea.