MADISON, N.J., June 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The American Chemical Society (ACS) honored George Ellestad, Ph.D., a recently retired veteran of Wyeth Research, a division of Wyeth , with the 2006 ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry Award at the 30th National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium in Seattle on June 28, 2006.
Dr. Ellestad was honored for his distinguished work in leading a group of scientists in pioneering discoveries about the potent cancer-fighting compound calicheamicin. Allen Reitz, Ph.D., who submitted the ACS award nomination, referred to the “stunning achievement” of Dr. Ellestad’s group to unravel the bioreductive activation and DNA cleavage chemistry of calicheamicin which helped pave the way for the development of the first antibody-targeted chemotherapy. For this work Dr. Ellestad and his colleagues received the prestigious Discoverers Award from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America in 2003, as well as the Heroes of Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society in 2004.
In the late 1980’s, Dr. Ellestad was engaged in coordinating the initial stages of the tetracycline project, which led the team to studying the mechanisms of resistance to the tetracycline antibiotics. This project, in collaboration with molecular biologists and x-ray crystallographers in Germany, contributed fundamental knowledge to the understanding of bacterial resistance to tetracyclines. This insight was further expanded by the medicinal chemistry team as part of the strategy which led to the discovery of Tygacil(R) (tigecycline), the first in a new class of intravenous antibiotics, glycylcyclines.
“George Ellestad has provided critical insights into important biochemical processes leading to significant advances in the use of enediyne-containing antitumor agents against certain types of soluble tumors,” says Robert R. Ruffolo, Jr., Ph.D., President, Wyeth Research and Senior Vice President, Wyeth. “The progress that Wyeth has made in the development of cancer- fighting drugs and other innovative pharmaceuticals is due in part to Dr. Ellestad’s research.”
Dr. Ellestad received a doctorate in organic chemistry from University of California, Los Angeles, and conducted postdoctoral work at the University of London before joining Lederle Laboratories in 1964, a company later acquired by Wyeth. Early in his professional career, Dr. Ellestad screened new fungal metabolites for pharmacological activity and researched the structural and medicinal chemistry of potent antibiotics called cinodines.
In August of 2004, Dr. Ellestad retired from Wyeth after nearly 40 years of service. He is now an Adjunct Senior Research Scientist at Columbia University.
About Wyeth
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has leading products in the areas of women’s health care, cardiovascular disease, central nervous system, inflammation, transplantation, hemophilia, oncology, vaccines and nutritional products. Wyeth is one of the world’s largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products and non-prescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide. The Company’s major divisions include Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Fort Dodge Animal Health.
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