ACS to honor 2018 Heroes of Chemistry awardees in Boston

Four teams of industrial chemical scientists from Astrazeneca, DuPont, Pfizer, and Seattle Genetics will be honored with the 2018 Heroes of Chemistry awards on Sunday, Aug. 19, at the ACS national meeting in Boston.

Started in 1996, the Heroes program recognizes industrial chemical scientists whose innovative work has led to the development of commercially successful products, ingrained with chemistry, for the benefit of humankind.

“The Heroes of Chemistry Award honors the researchers who are often the unsung heroes in the lab, as well as the managers who support them,” says Diane Grob Schmidt, chair of the ACS Board Committee on Corporation Associates, which oversees the Heroes of Chemistry program. “These four teams clearly exemplify the characteristics of scientific excellence and sound business management, resulting in products, technologies, and processes that benefit humanity.”

The AstraZeneca team is being honored for its development of TAGRISSO (osimertinib), a targeted drug for patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. The team consists of Raymond Finlay, Richard Ward, Sam Butterworth, and Michael Waring.

The DuPont team developed Solamet PV17x, a metallization paste that pioneered the use of lead tellurite chemistry for solar energy applications, such as solar panels. The awardees are Kurt Mikeska, Carmine (Charlie) Torardi, Paul VerNooy, Ken Hang, Alan Carroll, and Brian Laughlin.

The Pfizer team is being honored for its development of Inlyta (axitinib) for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma after failure of one prior systemic therapy. The team members include Robert Kania, Mike Varney, Michele McTigue, Steve Bender, Cindy Palmer, John Braganza, Michael R. Collins, Stephan Cripps, Scott Zook, Shu Yu, Jayaram Srirangam, Brian Chekal, Robert Singer, Steve Guinness, and Tony Campeta.

The team at Seattle Genetics developed ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin), which uses the company’s industry-leading antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology and is currently approved for the treatment of multiple CD30-expressing lymphomas. The team members are Peter Senter, Clay Siegall, Brian Toki, Associate Medical Director, Medical Affairs, Seattle Genetics, Svetlana O. Doronina, Brian Mendelsohn, and Timothy D. Bovee.