Contributors:

• Dr. Kevin Hares
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This episode of Innovate and React explores the fascinating history of natural product research and its pivotal role in developing life-saving cancer treatments. The journey begins in the 1950s and 60s with the National Cancer Institute’s efforts to screen thousands of plant extracts for biological activity. Through the stories of landmark compounds like camptothecin and Taxol, Kevin illustrates the complex collaboration required between botanists and chemists to isolate active ingredients from nature and transform them into viable medical therapies.
The episode delves into the origins of Taxol, originally discovered in the bark of the Pacific Yew tree. You will learn about the significant hurdles researchers faced. From the tedious workup to supply chain restrictions caused by harvesting bark from slow-growing trees. Find out how chemists made Taxol a marketable drug and overcame these problems.

• 00:00 Introduction
• 03:11 Discovery of Camptothecin
• 09:02 Discovery of the Pacific Yew and Taxol
• 18:45 The Shift to Semi-Synthesis

Molecular Structure of Taxol: https://innovateandreact.com/taxol/

Source:
“The Discovery of Camptothecin and Taxol” commemorative booklet produced by the National Historic Chemical Landmarks program of the American Chemical Society in 2003; https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/camptothecintaxol/discovery-of-camptothecin-and-taxol-commemorative-booklet.pdf

More about the natural products:
Dias DA, Urban S, Roessner U. A historical overview of natural products in drug discovery. Metabolites. 2012 Apr 16;2(2):303-36. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo2020303

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