OHSU's Druker to be honored for work on Gleevec

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OHSU's Druker to be honored for work on Gleevec

Posted by The Oregonian staff October 08, 2007 12:55PM

Categories: Breaking News

Dr. Druker, director of the Oregon Health & Science University Cancer

Institute, will receive the prestigious Keio Medical Science Prize.

The award cites Druker for helping develop Gleevec, the model of a new class

of cancer drugs highly targeted to attack tumor cells with fewer side

effects. The drug is now standard treatment for several less-common cancers,

including chronic myeloid leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and

has greatly extended patients' lives.

The $171,000 award from the Keio Medical Science Fund is made to researchers

in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the fields of medical or

life sciences. Druker will receive the award Dec. 4 at Keio University in

Tokyo.

Druker, in collaboration with Novartis pharmaceuticals, developed Gleevec,

which interferes with an enzyme that triggers the growth of chronic myeloid

leukemia cells. By specifically targeting the cancerous cells, the healthy

cells are left unharmed.

The award announcement said that the " successful development of Gleevec,

which is administered as a pill and does not produce severe side effects,

has revolutionized cancer therapy. It has spurred the era of molecular

targeted therapy, in which drugs are targeted at specific molecules

predicted by basic cancer research, replacing conventional, non-specific

anti-cancer drugs. "

Druker is the Jeld-Wen Chair of Leukemia Research and a

Medical Institute Investigator. He recently was elected to the prestigious

National Academy of Sciences.

- L. Hill: richardhill@...

Zavie (age 69)

67 Shoreham Avenue

Ottawa, Canada, K2G 3X3

dxd AUG/99

INF OCT/99 to FEB/00, CHF

No meds FEB/00 to JAN/01

Gleevec since MAR/27/01 (400 mg)

CCR SEP/01. #102 in Zero Club

2.8 log reduction Sep/05

3.0 log reduction Jan/06

2.9 log reduction Feb/07

3.2 log reduction Jun/07

3.6 log reduction Sep/07

e-mail: zmiller@...

Tel: 613-726-1117

Fax: 309-296-0807

Cell: 613-202-0204

ID: zaviem