May/June 2011 volume 7, issue 2 Advancing Biomedical Science, Education, and Health Care New alliance with Gilead Sciences is ‘transformative’ Research collaboration pairs Yale experts To begin to bend this troubling curve, some phar- maceutical companies have been building scientific with industry scientists to accelerate the alliances with universities, a trend that has picked up development of new drugs to treat cancer steam during the past few years. In March, President Richard C. Levin announced that Yale University When Robert J. Alpern, m.d., dean of the School had forged a multi-year research alliance with Gilead of Medicine, was asked recently to prepare a brief Sciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company based overview of the current state of drug discovery for a in Foster City, Calif., to accelerate the discovery and symposium at Yale’s West Campus, a familiar phrase development of new drugs to treat cancer. came quickly to mind: “It was the best of times, it was Gilead will provide up to $40 million to support the worst of times . ” cancer research at the School of Medicine over four It’s an apt description. On the one hand, we live in years, and a total of up to $100 million—the largest what some call the “post-Gleevec era,” a time when ba- corporate commitment in Yale’s history—for the full sic research conducted over decades is bearing fruit in 10 years outlined in the agreement. Yale maintains the form of remarkably effective, targeted drugs. But ownership of all intellectual property generated by the cost of drug development has risen exponentially medical school research, and Gilead will have the first as clinical trials and regulations have grown more option to develop any compound it deems promising. complex. The average total cost to develop a single ap- “The collaboration brings together one of the proved drug is now pegged at a staggering $1.3 billion, world’s top research universities and a biopharma- a 60 percent increase since 2005. ceutical company dedicated to addressing unmet courtesy of gilead sciences Early-stage research carried out by academic scien- medical needs, with the goal of finding new treat- Prime movers at Gilead Sciences in the new initiative with the tists in settings like the School of Medicine is unveiling ments for cancer,” Levin said. “This truly is transfor- School of Medicine are (clockwise from left) Howard Jaffe, a 1982 more potential drug targets than ever. But research mative support that leverages Yale Cancer Center’s alumnus of the medical school and president and chairman of the grants are not designed to sustain the many addi- top scientists, our West Campus technology invest- board of the Gilead Foundation; Linda Slanec Higgins, vice presi- dent, Biology; and William Lee, senior vice president, Research. tional steps involved in drug discovery, and academic ments, and the resources of the new Smilow Cancer researchers lack resources to explore these targets fur- Hospital. I can’t think of a better partner to have in Medical Institute investigator, and Thomas J. Lynch ther. The expense and complexity of bringing drugs to this collaboration than Gilead.” Jr., m.d., the Richard Sackler and Jonathan Sack- the marketplace have understandably made phar- The project will be governed by a six-member ler Professor of Medicine, director of Yale Cancer maceutical companies risk-averse and selective about Joint Steering Committee chaired by Joseph “Yossi” Center, and physician-in-chief at Smilow Cancer which targets to pursue. The resulting gap between Schlessinger, ph.d., chair and William H. Prusoff Hospital. They will be joined by Gilead scientists academia and industry has become known as the Val- Professor of Pharmacology at the School of Medi- Howard Jaffe, m.d., a 1982 alumnus of the School of ley of Death: only a miniscule number of promising cine. The committee will also include medical school Medicine and president and chairman of the board discoveries manage to traverse this chasm, and even scientists Richard P. Lifton, m.d., ph.d., chair and of the Gilead Foundation; William A. Lee, ph.d., fewer result in drugs approved for clinical use. Sterling Professor of Genetics and Howard Hughes senior vice president, research; and // Gilead (page 8) Donation from leading Asian foundation will advance stem cell science The Li Ka Shing Foundation (lksf), to continue to make of Medicine in 2010. “The team at Yale cells—but, like hescs, they can self- Asia’s largest philanthropic organiza- available to its seems to be very open, and wants to regenerate indefinitely and can develop tion, has made a $1.5 million donation members the most support and leverage each other’s work into any kind of bodily cell or tissue. to the Yale Stem Cell Center (yscc). current technolo- to accelerate science. At the Stem Cell Because ipscs are genetically matched The donation will fund improvements gies used in stem Center, I felt that Haifan has developed to the donor, they may not induce a in two of the yscc’s four core laborato- cell research.” a unique sense of community and rejection response by the immune ries that will benefit the work of more YSCC Director bonding between the different teams.” system, an important characteristic in than 60 faculty members and numer- Haifan Lin, ph.d., In the yscc’s human embryonic developing personalized treatments for ous trainees across the campus. Li Ka-shing professor of cell stem cell (hesc) facility, the dona- individual patients. In announcing the contribution, biology, first met LKSF Director Solina tion will support the introduction of The new ipsc initiative at the Yale University President Richard C. Chau during a trip to Hong Kong last induced pluripotent stem cell (ipsc) yscc will be supervised by In-Hyun Levin said, “We are grateful for the year, but Chau says it was more than technology, which will bring scientists Park, ph.d., assistant professor of Li Ka Shing Foundation’s generos- the proposal on behalf of the yscc Lin closer to tailoring patient-specific cells genetics, one of the world’s first ity, which benefits today’s medical sent later that won lksf’s support. for the treatment of disease. scientists to develop ipsc technology. research in order to develop tomor- “We have all been great admirers of Discovered in 2006, ipscs are Park’s work has focused on the basic row’s cures. This significant donation the work of Yale for 100 years in Chi- typically derived from ordinary adult biology of stem cells and on the use will allow the Yale Stem Cell Center na,” says Chau, who visited the School cells such as skin cells—not embryonic of stem cells to // Li Ka Shing (page 7) Non-Profit Org. inside this issue 1 Church St., Suite 300, New Haven, CT 06510-3330 U. S. Postage www.medicineatyale.org 2 Lifelines paid Brian Smith discusses how far laboratory New Haven, CT medicine has come—and where it’s headed. Permit No. 526 3 Meeting of the minds School of Medicine’s April symposium, “Biomedicine in the New Century,” draws top-notch speakers and enthusiastic crowds. 8 Given in gratitude Herbert and Marigrace Boyer are honored with the medical school’s highest honor, the Peter Parker Medal, for their generosity. also Advances, pp. 3, 5 Out & About, p. 4 Grants and Contracts, p. 6 lifelines Translational work by diabetes expert is cited in award Brian Smith, who leads the medical school’s Department William V. Tam- of Laboratory Medicine, borlane, m.d., says that the technologies professor of that are making personal- ized medicine a reality pose pediatrics and a daunting challenges to his world-renowned field. The sheer quantity of figure in the patient information that understanding can now be obtained from and treatment genomic analysis and other techniques raises a William of childhood multitude of practical and Tamborlane diabetes, has ethical questions, and will been awarded require informatics experts the T2-Translation Award by the to devise innovative ways to Society for Clinical and Transla- manage and interpret highly complex data. tional Science (scts). The award recognizes the trans- lation of research from early clinical Brian Smith use to applicability for widespread harold shapiro harold clinical practice. The award honors Tamborlane’s pioneering clini- cal research, which has led to new delivery methods for physiological Tackling an information explosion replacement of insulin, preventing Chair worries that the U.S. has explored the interface between genome, has brought formidable chal- many of the major long-term com- the immune and coagulation (clotting) lenges to laboratory medicine. plications of childhood diabetes. is not ready for the coming systems in blood diseases, cardiovascu- Labs will soon routinely perform Tamborlane is chief of the Sec- deluge of medical data lar disorders, and metastatic cancer. His complex genomic and proteomic tion of Pediatric Endocrinology and work on these two critical physiologies analyses impossible just a few years ago, deputy director of the Yale Center For a leader in a field at a pivotal may ultimately help to reduce com- vastly improving diagnosis but increas- for Clinical Investigation. His moment of transition, Brian R. Smith, plications associated with heart-lung ing reliance on informatics. “Humans are major achievements have included m.d., is modest, equating his role as bypass machines and the administra- very good at some qualitative pattern pioneering work in the development chair of the Department of Laboratory tion of blood transfusions. recognition, but computers are far of insulin pump therapy, continu- Medicine to mostly “filling out pieces of After attending Princeton as an better at consolidating multiple quan- ous glucose monitoring, sensor- paper.” But Smith’s department, with a undergraduate, Smith received his titative analyses for diagnostics or fol- augmented pumps, and a prototype mission that combines both service and m.d.