MIT professor at IIT Bombay lecture series

Mumbai

As a part of the ongoing Golden Jubilee celebrations—distinguish lecture series at IIT Bombay, Professor Stephan J Lippard, Head of Department of Chemistry from MIT University, delivered a public lecture on discovery, understanding and invention of platinum anti-cancer drugs at PC Saxena Hall at IIT Bombay, Powai.

Lippard's lecture focused on the history behind the discovery of the anticancer activity of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II), the most potent anti-cancer drug and a virtual cure for testicular cancer. Studies of the mechanism of the action was described, together with synthetic efforts that have expanded the range of tumours that can be successfully treated by the platinum drug family. The various stages in the process, from serendipitous discover to understanding to invention, was delineated. The lecture concluded with the presentation of novel agents in which cancer-cell targeting units and cell-piercing carbon nano tubes are tethered to platinum warheads for next generation anti-cancer drug candidates.