Scripps professor develops simplified methods that speed the creation of potential drugs

The key is, medicinal chemists are brilliant and very talented, but what they do not have is time. And what they do not want to do are reactions that require gloveboxes and astronaut suits. What they want is just something they can do literally on the kitchen table, and then throw the contents of the flask into a machine that will purify it for them.

Q: Who came up with the idea of selling these chemicals?

A: We recognized early on there would be a need for these types of reagents for pharma. So we contacted (Sigma-Aldrich) to tell them what we had. They jumped on it and wrote back and said, “We want to commercialize it — yesterday.”

According to the Aldrich guy, they’re one of the most rapidly selling new reagents they’ve introduced in a decade.

Q: Do you get any money out of the sales?

A: I haven’t gotten anything from it. Scripps might have something baked into the contract. My main driver in this was just getting the reagents out to the people who need them as rapidly as possible. Sigma-Aldrich is like a supermarket. For medicinal chemists who want to use this reagent system, the barrier to trying it is lowered substantially when you can just pick up the phone or write an email and get the reagents shipped to them the next day.

Q: Is it gratifying to have your name on products other chemists will use?

A: The primary happiness for me is if it helps somebody do something that would be difficult to do otherwise.


