ISAR ANNOUNCES THE 2022 GERTRUDE ELION AWARDEE, DR. George painter
ISAR major awards, including the Gertrude Elion Memorial Award, instituted in memory of Gertrude (Trudy) Elion, a true pioneer in the antiviral field whose team developed acyclovir, are one of the highlights of every ICAR; hybrid 2022 ICAR Seattle will not be an exception.
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund has generously committed $7,500 to ISAR to support the USD$ 5,000 Gertrude Elion Memorial Award and its associated expenses. This is the oldest major ISAR award, first awarded in 2000, which recognizes an outstanding senior scientist of international stature who has made considerable contributions in the field of antiviral research or to any scientific field directly or peripherally related to antiviral research. In addition to the main criterion of scientific preeminence, the recipient should have some of Trudy’s characteristics including a genuine love of science.
The list of inductees reads as a “Who’s who” in antiviral research and development and includes many people involved in the discovery and development of some of the clinical antivirals that continuously save millions of lives and improve the quality of life of many others, such as Antonin Holý, Erik De Clercq, Karl Hostetler, John Dracht, Ann Kwong, William Lee, Michael Sofía, and many others
ISAR introduces now the 2022 Gertrude Elion Memorial Awardee, Dr. George Painter, Ph.D., Emory University, School of Medicine, CEO of DRIVE (Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory) and Executive Director of The Emory Institute for Drug Development. He is an inventor on over one hundred fifty patents, many of which have led to clinical antiviral drugs or combinations of antiviral drugs for the treatment of HIV, hepatitis B, smallpox, and coronavirus infections.
Over the past 30 years. Dr. Painter has played a major role in the discovery, development, and implementation of modern antiviral therapy. Dr. Painter held senior management positions in two global pharmaceutical companies, Burroughs Wellcome Co. and GlaxoWellcome, where he led the discovery, development, and commercialization of antiviral agents to treat HIV and HBV. He then transitioned to the biotech sector, where he was a founding member of the management team of Triangle, Inc., an HIV company where he led the development of the key HIV drug emtricitabine. He then become a cofounder of the biotechnology company Chimerix, Inc. and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer for nine years. During his tenure, the company developed a drug for the prophylaxis and treatment of smallpox infection, Tembexa, which was approved by the FDA in June of this year. At Emory University, Dr. Painter has led the establishment of a freestanding drug discovery and development company inside the university, company which currently has drugs under development for COVID-19 and enterovirus infections.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Painter on being bestowed with the Gertrude Ellion Memorial Award, and in thanking the Burroughs Wellcome Fund for their generous sponsorship of this award, which highlights key people in the antiviral discovery and development endeavour.
As all other main awardees, Dr. Painter will deliver his keynote award lecture at the upcoming hybrid ICAR2022 in Seattle, coming March 21-25. Register now not to miss yet another outstanding and very topical talk.
December 23, 2022