SMR AWARD FOR DRUG DISCOVERY
The Society for Medicines Research believe that outstanding
contributions, achievements and inventions in the world of drug
discovery and development should be recognised and celebrated. To
achieve this goal the SMR instigated its own symbol of recognition,
the SMR Award for Drug Discovery. Recipients are individual
scientists, or teams of scientists, duly acknowledged for their
contribution by the scientific community. The multidisciplinary
nature of the achievement is inherent in this award. With members
from all disciplines of drug research, we are proud to recognise the
successes of others in order to help the individuals and their host
institution gain the reward and acclaim they deserve from within the
pharmaceutical world. There are still very few prizes of this kind
in the drug discovery area and we believe that the multidisciplinary
nature of the SMR adds to the recognition status of this award,
making it significantly different from those awards that recognise
achievements within a single discipline. Until 2001, the Award
recognised only those contributions emanating from within the UK.
With increasing globalisation of R&D and the SMR increasing its
popularity throughout the world by attracting international speakers
at scientific meetings, and through the broadcasting of archive
web-casts of its meetings, this UK-only position was believed to be
unsustainable. Thus, beginning in 2003, the Award was made open to
non-UK scientists.
SMR Award Winner 2016
The Society for Medicines Research 2016 SMR Award for Drug Discovery
was awarded to the Bristol-Myers Squibb team responsible for OPDIVO®
(nivolumab), a fully human anti-programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1)
antibody approved to treat several cancers. Immunotherapies, such as
nivolumab, have revolutionized the treatment of cancer in recent
years.
The SMR Award was received by Dr Francis Cuss, Executive Vice
President & CSO R&D, Bristol-Myers Squibb on 1st December 2016 at
the National Heart and Lung Institute, London, UK at the ‘Recent
Disclosures of Clinical Candidates’ meeting. Dr Cuss delivered a
fascinating SMR Award Lecture entitled: ‘The Discovery, Development
and Delivery of Opdivo’.
Past winners of the award:
| 1983 |
Mr Peter Doyle (Beecham) Augmentin |
| 1985 |
Dr David Jack (Glaxo) Salbutamol |
| 1987 |
Prof John Stenlake (University of Strathclyde) Atracurium |
| 1989 |
Prof Sir James Black, in association with Dr Albert Crowther &
Prof Robin Ganellin (ICI and SK&F) Beta-blockers and H2 antagonists |
| 1991 |
Drs Dutta, Furr and Hutchinson (ICI) Zoladex |
| 1993 |
Dr Ken Richardson (Pfizer) Fluconazole |
| 1995 |
Prof Pat Humphrey (Glaxo) Sumatriptan |
| 1997 |
Drs Duncan, Redshaw and Roberts (Roche) Saquinavir |
| 1999 |
Dr David Tupper, Mr Terence Hotten and Dr Nicholas Moore (Eli
Lilly) Olanzapine |
| 2001 |
Dr Michael Cawthorne, Dr Stephen Smith, Dr Barrie Cantello, Mr
Richard Hindley and Dr David Haigh (GlaxoSmithKline) Rosiglitazone (Avandia) |
| 2003 |
Dr Juerg Zimmermann, Dr Elisabeth Buchdunger, Dr Ulrike Pfaar,
Dr Peter Graf, Dr John Ford and Dr Renaud Capdeville (Novartis)
Glivec (imatinib) |
| 2006 |
Napoleone Ferrara (Genentech) Avastin (bevacizumab) |
| 2009 |
Dr Emma Parmee (Merck) Januvia |
| 2012 |
Dr Peter Mueller (Vertex Pharmaceuticals) Telaprevir |
| 2014 |
Dr Betty Chang (Pharmacyclics) Imbruvica (Ibrutinib) |
