| RefNo | EC/1995/41 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Elion, Gertrude Belle: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
| Date | 1991 |
| Description | Certificate of Candidate for Election to Foreign Membership. Citation typed |
| Citation | Dr Elion is a distinguished scientist who, together with Dr George Hitchings (Foreign Member 1974), were [sic] responsible for the development of a series of outstanding pharmaceuticals during a period of 38 years of research with Burroughs Wellcome. Dr Elion joined their company working with her colleague, Dr Hitchings, on joint projects of analogues of purine bases to compete with natural purines and in so doing, interfere with their biological roles. This deliberately synthesized chemical competitor of natyral substances was a new idea at the time. A large number of compounds were investigated and the first to have important therapeutic value in man was the thiopurine analogue, 6-Mercaptopurine, which produced remarkable improvement in many patients dying of leukemia, often producing symptom remission for years, and the compound is still used.
Thioquanine, another purine analogue, has also been used effectively in the treatment of acute leukemia. Allopurinol was a deliberate attempt to lower the uric acid levels in gout and this is now the standard treatment for this condition. 6-Mercaptopurine was the first compound that effectively prolonged experimental organ allografts and its derivative, Azathioprine, led to organ transplantation in man being established as a therapeutically useful form of treatment that opened up a whole new area of surgery which has now become extremely important.
Exploitation of differences in purine and pyrimidine metabolism between host and parasite led to the development of new, potent compounds for the treatment of bacterial protazoal and viral infections. The dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors, trimethoprim and pyrimethamine, quickly became important renedies for the treatment of bacterial infections and malaria. The discovery that potentiation occurred when these compounds were given with sulphonamides or sulphones yielded the valuable drug combinations, cotrimoxazole and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine. Cotrimoxazole has proved to be extremely safe and is the first choice for the treatment of many infections, particularly those of the renal tract.
Dr Elion's work formed the basis of the discovery of acyclovir, the first really effective remedy for herpes infections. These deliberately engineered therapeutic compounds were the result of an enormous amount of work over many years and being responsible for the alleviation of much human misery and the treatment of many conditions that previously were fatal. In recognition of this, Dr Elion was awarded the Nobel Prize jointly with Drs Hitchings and Black in 1988, prizes and awards for scientific work and honorary doctorates at 11 universities. She has consistently persevered over 38 years of scientific work producing chemical bases of new compounds that have benefitted mankind. |
| AccessStatus | Closed |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA5971 | Elion; Gertrude Belle (1918 - 1999) | 1918 - 1999 |