Eugene Goldwasser was an American
biochemist at the
University of Chicago who identified
erythropoietin (widely known as EPO or Epo), a
hormone that plays a vital role in the synthesis of
red blood cells died from prostate cancer he was , 88. After sharing the minute quantities that he had been able to isolate with researchers at the biotechnology firm
Amgen, that company was able to use
genetic engineering technology to produce useful amounts of EPO as a drug to treat
anemia that has achieved substantial financial success, but that has also been used by athletes as a
performance-enhancing drug.
(October 14, 1922 – December 17, 2010)
Early life and education
Goldwasser was born on October 14, 1922, in
Brooklyn,
New York, and moved with his family to
Kansas City, Missouri following the collapse of his father's clothing company.
[1] He received a scholarship to attend the University of Chicago and worked at the school's defense-oriented toxicity laboratory during
World War II before earning his undergraduate degree in biochemistry in 1943.
[2] Goldwasser served for two years at
Fort Detrick, home of the
United States biological weapons program, studying
anthrax after being drafted by the
United States Army in 1944.
[2] He earned his doctorate in biochemistry in 1950 after returning to the University of Chicago.
[1]
Career in biochemistry
Hypotheses had been made in the early 20th century that there was a substance that triggered the body to produce more red blood cells, but no one had been able to identify a material that matched the description. In 1955,
hematologist Leon O. Jacobson challenged Goldwasser to begin a search for the red blood cell-promoting substance, a task that Goldwasser assumed could be accomplished in a few months. His initial approach involved the step-by-step removal of different organs from
laboratory rats, leading to the conclusion that anemia resulted from a substance produced in the
kidneys. Though the discovery of where the material was produced was made in 1957, it took Goldwasser and his team another 15 years before they were able to isolate eight milligrams of EPO from material that had been precipitated from 2,500 litres (550 imp gal; 660 US gal) of
urine from anemia patients by Japanese researcher Takaji Miyake. Results of Goldwasser's research, which had been funded by grants from the
National Institutes of Health, were first published in 1977 in the
Journal of Biological Chemistry.
[1] University of Chicago biochemist
Donald F. Steiner called the discovery "one of the great contributions to science or medicine of the 20th century, comparable to the discovery of
insulin".
[2] Goldwasser had submitted a patent disclosure form, though the University of Chicago never pursued a patent.
[2]
After providing a sample of the purified EPO to researchers at Amgen, a team there led by
Fu-Kuen Lin was able to identify and patent the gene that produced EPO and was able to generate useful quantities of human EPO by using genetic engineering techniques to insert the gene into
hamster cells. After successful tests on patients undergoing
dialysis,
Epoetin alfa, marketed by Amgen under the trade name Epogen starting in 1989, became a financial success, generating a billion-dollar market for Amgen and other companies that had developed their own versions of EPO, though Goldwasser would say that "the enormous clinical success of Epo still astonishes me". Goldwasser didn't receive any royalties from Amgen and noted that having received "one percent of one percent of the drug's annual revenues would have funded my lab quite handsomely" before his retirement from the university in 2002.
[1] Goldwasser faced criticism for turning over his government-funded research results to Amgen, though he wrote in 1996 that he had received permission from the NIH.
[1]
In subsequent years EPO has faced controversy for its use as a performance-enhancing drug, particularly in long-distance
bicycle racing, where participants have been found to have used EPO as a means to increase endurance.
[1] Floyd Landis admitted to using EPO and other performance-enhancing substances during his professional career, and
was stripped of his title as winner of the
2006 Tour de France.
[3]
A resident of
Hyde Park, Chicago, Goldwasser died at his home there at the age of 88 on December 17, 2010, due to
renal failure that occurred as a complication of
prostate cancer. He was survived by his wife, Deone Jackman, as well as by three sons, two stepchildren and seven grandchildren.
[1]
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Coates was born in Hetton-le-Hole, County Durham. He was an apprentice colliery fitter and his footballing ability was spotted by Burnley's North-East scout Jack Hixon.[3] Coates joined Burnley on trial in 1961 and after a period as an apprentice turned professional in 1963.[4] He made his first-team debut in December 1964 scoring his first goal in a 2-0 win against Leicester City in March 1965.[4]He would go on to make 261 appearances for Burnley in all competitions scoring 32 goals.[4] After Burnley had been relegated from the First Division in 1971 Coates was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £190,000.[4] He played over 300 games for Tottenham and earned winner's medals for the 1972 UEFA Cup and the 1973 Football League Cup Final where he scored the winning goal in the final.[4] Coates left Tottenham in 1978 and had a short period playing in Australia before returning to play for Leyton Orient where he was also on the coaching staff.[4] He played 84 games in all competitions for Orient scoring 12 goals. [5]
