Goan chemist discovering new drugs
17 JAN 2016
Dr Donald Pinto from
Mapusa was one in a bunch of chemists that discovered the drug Eliquis, which
can be used for prevention of strokes. Having left Goa to pursue his career,
Pinto did not forget his roots as he took a little bit of Goa with him to America.
His drive to succeed in his field, pushed him to greater heights. KARSTEN
MIRANDA caught up with him
(Below is an edited
version of the Oheraldo story)
In Mapusa, there are
many who speak highly of an old classmate, fellow student or former lecturer.
In the year 1980, Donald Pinto obtained his MSc degree in Organic
Chemistry and subsequently left Goa to pursue his PhD in organic synthesis in
the USA.
Recently, Dr Pinto was
recognized by the American Chemical Society, winning the 2015 Heroes of
Chemistry award along with his colleagues for their breaking achievement in
drug discovery.
Donald was part of the
team that had achieved unprecedented success, in the discovery and development
of the drug ELIQUIS® (apixaban) : a novel oral anticoagulant therapy for non
valvular atrial fibrillation for stroke prevention and also for VTE (venous
thromboembolism- formation of blood clots in the vein).
Donald explained that
the drug is now a leading oral anticoagulant in the world amongst
cardiologists. “We are very excited about this product and it
transformational potential for patients. Eliquis® was co-developed with
Pfizer and is currently being sold by the Bristol Myers Squibb(BMS) and Pfizer
alliance,” said Donald. Donald and his colleagues at BMS won the ACS heroes
award for its discovery.
Explaining the run up
that led to the discovery, Donald said it began when he was working at the
DuPont Company where he developed an expertise in the areas of inflammatory
diseases (arthritis) and later in cardiovascular science, looking at novel
therapies directed at addressing unmet medical needs such as thrombotic disease
(antithrombotics).
“At the time I began
my involvement in the direction of thrombosis, the science was evolving on the
benefits of a potent antithrombotic agent for the prevention and treatment of
stroke,” said Donald. Donald added that Eliquis’s sales for 2015 approach $2B.
A peer of Dr Donald, Dr
Helga Do Rosario Gomes (former colleague of Donald now at Columbia University
in New York) has praised his work and said ‘it's a huge achievement for someone
from such a limited education system and a good role model for many in Goa who
don’t have many opportunities after their Masters’.
“He was my classmate
from the time when we did our masters in the Post graduate center in Education
Building (pre- Goa Univ). He has done exceedingly well for himself. He
has worked in many well known pharmaceutical companies where he has produced
many patents and won awards. He was just awarded the Chemistry Hero prize along
with his group for developing a blood thinner Eliquis for BMS. I think
it’s very hard to develop a drug from inception - hundreds are started but,
very few make it and become such a big and popular one like this one. It’s also
a very expensive proposition from inception to clinical trials, FDA approvals
to marketing etc,” said Dr Helga.
Dr. S.K.Paknikar,
retired Professor of Organic Chemistry, Goa University candidly shares his
association with Donald. "When I suggested to Donald to go overseas and if
possible to US to do his Ph.D, my idea was to ensure he got an opportunity to
work in a stimulating environment both for learning and research. We have been
in touch for the past 35 years. I have closely observed his research
career with great interest and have chipped in with occasional suggestions when
required. His development as an individual researcher and as a team member of
BMS is a lesson to young scientists. The recent results of his research led to
the development of a new drug Eliquis - which is much better than warfarin
presently used for the treatment of VTE. This is the outcome of several years
of research with passion, enthusiasm and a positive approach. I must say that
it was my most proud moment when he informed me that his group has been
announced as the "Heroes of Chemistry 2015." I salute him on this
occasion."
“Setting goals and
measuring accomplishments versus goals is very crucial for the growth of any
individual and I am happy this culture was set in me early on in my career.
Thanks to my colleagues and fantastic collaborations we are able to
achieve a lot of great results,” said Donald.
The drive to succeed,
a positive attitude, solid work ethic and a steady determination to succeed led
the Ucassaim lad to be recognized as a leader in the field of anticoagulation
and has now motivated him to expand his area of expertise to include heart
failure.
In Goa, Donald briefly
taught science at Holy Cross High School in Bastora his alma matter in 1978 as
a substitute science teacher. He did this whilst pursuing his MSC degree. He
was all around student, good at academics, sports, and an active
participant in student extracurricular activities even representing St.
Xavier’s institution (Mapuca) at the Bombay University level and winning
honours even as a student.
Donald is part of a
strong Goan Community in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where recently they
welcomed the Arch Bishop of Goa in August 2015, and recently with the goan
community in Pennsylvania celebrated St. Francis feast where they also
performed the corrudinho.
While he has attended
conferences and given presentations across the globe, he has been in India a
few times and he had had the opportunity in the past to speak to students at
St. Xavier’s college Mapuca and Goa University.
Donald then completed
his PhD from the State University of New York and followed it with a
post-doctoral stint at Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, New York. He
later joined the DuPont Company (Wilmington, DE) in 1988 in the medical
products division.
“It is here that I
began to hone in my skills as a medicinal chemist and devote my time to solve
unmet medical needs, “said Donald. He speaks about how DuPont
experimental station was the place where many of DuPont’s innovations were
discovered such as Teflon, Kevlar, Tyvek, Cozzar (1st in class AII
antihypertensive agent) etc. It was also the home for Nobel Laureates.
“So just being here in
the midst of highly skilled individuals from the best of the best institutions
in the country was very refreshing and rewarding. The culture of
accountability, the strive to being the best was cultivated early on in my
career. This really helped me as I advanced in my medicinal chemistry career
now at Bristol Myers Squibb, “said Donald.
Donald is currently a
research fellow at Bristol Myers Squibb in New Jersey, where he is spending his
time coming up the next breakthrough therapies in cardiology.
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