Jerome P. Horwitz

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Jerome Phillip Horwitz (born January 16, 1919 in Detroit , † September 6, 2012 in Bloomfield Township , Michigan) was an American chemist . He synthesized in 1964 azidothymidine (AZT, International Nonproprietary Name : zidovudine), a nucleoside - analogue , which in 1987 as the first drug to antiretroviral therapy for infections with the human immunodeficiency virus was approved (HIV). The synthesis of stavudine followed in 1966 and zalcitabine in 1967 .

Life

Horwitz studied chemistry at the University of Detroit and earned a bachelor's degree in 1942 and a master's degree in 1944. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1948. He then worked at the Illinois Institute of Technology before taking up research for the Michigan Cancer Foundation (from 1995 Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute ) in 1956 and becoming a professor at the Wayne State University Medical School . In 2005 he retired.

He was married to Sharon Newman Horwitz and had two daughters.

Act

While searching for active agents against cancer , Horwitz developed azidothymidine (AZT, 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine) in 1964 by replacing the hydroxyl group of deoxythymidine with an azido group (-N3). The substance was tested in animal experiments on cancer cells and was found to be ineffective. In the 1980s, azidothymidine was one of the substances whose effectiveness was tested against infections with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In 1987 the substance was approved as the first active ingredient for antiretroviral therapy in HIV infections. Horwitz and his research institute had not patented azidothymidine and did not profit economically from the clinical application.

In 1966, Horwitz's group synthesized stavudine , and in 1967 zalcitabine . Both substances were later approved as nucleoside analogs for the treatment of HIV infections.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Emily Langer: Researcher Jerome P. Horwitz, 93, created AZT, the first approved treatment for HIV / AIDS . The Washington Post . 20th September 2012.
  2. ↑ Dr. Jerome Horwitz retires after devoting career to fighting cancer and AIDS. ( Memento of August 8, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) In: Scribe. Vol. 16, No. 3, Summer 2005, No. 6.
  3. ↑ J P. Horwitz, J. Chua, M. Noel: Nucleosides. V. The monomesylates of 1- (2'-deoxy-beta-D-lyxofuranosyl) thymine. In: The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 29, 1964, pp. 2076-2078, doi: 10.1021 / jo01030a546 .
  4. ↑ Walter Sneader: Drug Discovery. A history. Wiley-Interscience, 2005, ISBN 0-471-89980-1 , pp. 260f.
  5. ^ Samuel Broder : The development of antiretroviral therapy and its impact on the HIV-1 / AIDS pandemic. In: Antiviral Research . Volume 85, Number 1, January 2010, pp. 1-18. doi: 10.1016 / j.antiviral.2009.10.002 .
  6. ^ Paul Vitello: Jerome Horwitz, AZT Creator, Dies at 93 . In: New York Times . 20th September 2012.
  7. ↑ JP Horwitz, J. Chua, MA Da Rooge, M. Noel, IL Klundt: Nucleosides. IX. The formation of 2 ', 2'-unsaturated pyrimidine nucleosides via a novel beta-elimination reaction. In: The Journal of Organic Chemistry. Volume 31, Number 1, January 1966, pp. 205-211, PMID 5900814 .
  8. ↑ JP Horwitz, J. Chua, M. Noel, JT Donatti: Nucleosides. XI. 2 ', 3'-dideoxycytidines. In: The Journal of Organic Chemistry . Volume 32, Number 3, March 1967, pp. 817-818. PMID 6042127 .
personal data
SURNAME Horwitz, Jerome P.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Horwitz, Jerome Phillip (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American chemist
DATE OF BIRTH January 16, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Detroit
DATE OF DEATH September 6, 2012
Place of death Bloomfield Township