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| W. Graham Richards, D. Sc. |
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W. Graham Richards, D. Sc. Developing new anti-cancer drugs with fewer side effects Anti-cancer drugs are comprised of small molecules which act by binding to their target, nucleic acids or proteins, which are large molecules. But "steering" the drug precisely to the target molecule without harming other molecules is extremely difficult. With a more thorough understanding of the large molecule target and the small molecule drug, scientists can improve the selectivity of binding. That in turn will lead to the development of innovative anti-cancer drugs with fewer side effects for patients. NFCR Center Director Expertise The leading expert on computational chemistry, Dr. Richards is chairman of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford in England. He conducts research on applications of theoretical chemistry, molecular biophysics, and design of anti-cancer drugs. Dr. Richards has developed important techniques to aid in drug discovery, many of which have become standard practice in pharmaceutical companies. NFCR Research Overview
NFCR Research Findings As a result of Dr. Richards' NFCR project, he and his team developed a new structure-activity method called SOMFA (self-organizing molecular field analysis). Using SOMFA, Dr. Richards was able to predict the structure of cytokines-findings which are now being used by others for new drug designs. His work was published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, the software was made available on the Internet, and his technique is being adopted by researchers in the pharmaceutical industry. Future Research Goals A human genome project will provide more details of the best targets for anti-cancer drugs, both DNA and protein. Dr. Richards' research will take advantage of this as well as new experimental advances such as combinatorial chemistry to foster further progress in the design of better anti-cancer drugs. Impact on Cancer Prevention, Treatment, or Cure Anti-cancer drugs are extending the lives of many people with cancer, but often at great cost. The side effects of treatment sometimes seem worse than the cancer itself. Dr. Graham Richards' research to understand the inner workings of large and small molecules is providing a base of knowledge for pharmaceutical companies to use in designing anti-cancer drugs that are less toxic to patients. To donate and help continue this life-saving research, click HERE. |
The National Foundation for Cancer Research is supporting Dr. Richards' study of both large and small molecules in an effort to develop solutions to the shortcomings of anti-cancer drugs. In large molecules, he has focused on DNA and on cytokines, since DNA is the target of many anti-cancer drugs. Cytokines are involved in the control of cell growth and are now being used to treat cancer patients. In small molecules, Dr. Richards is taking advantage of recent innovations in the synthesis of many thousands of potential drugs by "combinatorial chemistry" to develop new methods for predicting the activity of molecules in various situations.
