Quest for Efficacious Cancer Chemotherapy based on the Next-Generation Taxanes and Their Tumor-Targeted Delivery

Abstract

Paclitaxel (Taxol®) and docetaxel are among the most widely used chemotherapeutic drugs against various types of cancer. However, these drugs cause undesirable side effects as well as drug resistance. Therefore, it is essential to develop next-generation taxane anticancer agents with better pharmacological properties and improved activity especially against drug-resistant and metastatic cancers. Our studies have led to the development of numerous highly potent novel second- and third-generation taxanes. The third-generation taxanes show virtually no difference in potency against drug-resistant and drug-sensitive cell lines. Some of the next-generation taxanes also exhibit excellent potency against cancer stem cells, which are the cause of cancer recurrence and metastasis. This lecture concisely presents investigations into taxanes over 25 years based on a strong quest for the discovery and development of next-generation taxanes and their highly efficacious tumor-targeted drug delivery. The critical importance of multidisciplinary research in these endeavors, as well as emerging academia-industry collaborations in drug discovery will also be discussed.

Information

Date: Friday, March 15, 2019 Time: 5:45 PM ~ 8:00 PM (5:45 PM doors open, 6:15 PM – 8 PM lecture and Q&A) Location: University of Tokyo New York Office, 145 West 57th St. 21st Fl., NYC Language: The lecture will be in English, the Q&A can be in Japanese Fee: $20 (Beverage and appetizers) Registration deadline: Monday, March 11, 2019 First come first serve. Seating is limited. Photo: Photos taken at the event may be used in Friends of UTokyo publications or on the FUTI website. Please notify us ahead of time if there is an issue with having your photo taken. Sponsor: Satsukikai America Co-sponsor: Friends of UTokyo, Inc.

About Iwao Ojima

Brief Curriculum Vitae Name: Iwao Ojima Title:University Distinguished Professor Education:     1968 B. S. degree        The University of Tokyo 1970 M. S. degree       The University of Tokyo 1973 Ph.D. degree       The University of Tokyo (Prof. Naoki Inamoto) Appointments: l973-l983 Senior  Research  Fellow and Group Leader, Sagami Institute of Chemical Research 1983     Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Stony Brook 1984     Professor, Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Stony Brook 1989     Professeur invité, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, Lyon, France 1991     Leading Professor, State University of New York at Stony Brook 1995     University Distinguished Professor, State University of New York 1996     Visiting Professor, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan 1997     Visiting Professor, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 1997     Professeur invité, Université de Paris XI, BIOCIS, Châtenay-Malabry, France 1997-2003 Chair, Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Stony Brook 2003-present, Director, Institute of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Stony Brook. 2016-present, President, National Academy of Inventors Stony Brook University Chapter. Awards: The 25th National Young Investigator Award (日本化学会進歩賞), The Chemical Society of Japan, 1976. Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, American Chemical Society, 1994. The 51st Chemical Society of Japan Award (日本化学会賞) for distinguished achievements, The Chemical Society of Japan, 1999. Emanuel B. Hershberg Award for Important Discoveries in Medicinally Active Substances, American Chemical Society, 2001. Outstanding Inventor Award, The Research Foundation of the State University of New York, 2002. NYSTAR Faculty Development Award, New York State Office of Science, Technology & Academic Research, 2002. ACS Award for Creative Work in Fluorine Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 2013. Ernest Guenther Award in the Chemistry of Natural Products, American Chemical Society, 2019. Selected Honors (Elected Fellows): J. S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1995) American Association for the Advancement of Science (1997) The New York Academy of Sciences (2000) American Chemical Society (2010) National Academy of Inventors (2014). More details at:https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/chemistry/faculty/Ojima%20CV.pdf