'Heroes of Chemistry' recognized for contributions to health and environment

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2019 — Scientists who developed products that have led to significant advancements in pharmacology, automotive coating and printing are this year’s inductees for the Heroes of Chemistry, a scientific hall of fame. The American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society, has bestowed this honor annually since 1996.   

“The 2019 ACS Heroes of Chemistry have demonstrated an exceptional degree of creativity and technical achievement in developing successful commercial products that improve the lives of people worldwide,” says Bonnie A. Charpentier, Ph.D., ACS president. “The advances from DuPont, Pharmacyclics LLC, PPG and Paratek Pharmaceuticals benefit both patients and consumers and once again shine a spotlight on the chemical sciences as a driving force of innovation.”

The Heroes of Chemistry program recognizes scientists whose innovative work in chemistry and chemical engineering leads to commercial products that benefit the world. The teams will be recognized in a ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 25, during the Society’s National Meeting & Exposition in San Diego.  

The following scientific teams will be honored:

• Paratek Pharmaceuticals: NUZYRA™ (omadacycline) and SEYSARA™ (sarecycline) are two newly FDA approved antibiotics, both of which launched into the U.S. market in early 2019. Both products were designed based upon tetracycline chemistry. NUZYRA™ is a once-daily broad-spectrum oral and intravenous antibiotic for the treatment of adults with community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI). SEYSARA™ is a once-daily narrow-spectrum oral antibiotic for the treatment of moderate to severe acne vulgaris.
• DuPont: Cyrel® EASY is an advanced flexographic printing plate technology platform. The photopolymer chemistry that constitutes the basis of the technology simplifies the plate making workflow and delivers outstanding print results. Cyrel® EASY is part of an ongoing effort to drive advancement in the flexographic printing industry by improving print quality, consistency, sustainability and productivity.
• Pharmacyclics LLC, An AbbVie Company: IMBRUVICA^® (ibrutinib) is a first-in-class, oral, once-daily therapy that mainly works by inhibiting a protein called Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK). BTK is a key signaling molecule in the B-cell receptor signaling complex that plays an important role in the survival and spread of malignant B cells. IMBRUVICA^® is FDA-approved in six distinct diseases: chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM), along with previously treated mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), previously treated marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) and previously treated chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD).
• PPG:  B1:B2™ Compact Process is a unique automotive coating system that moves the primer performance properties into the basecoat paint layers and increases overall process efficiency for automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The compact paint system significantly reduces the manufacturing footprint and environmental impact of the traditional automotive painting process by reducing operating costs and energy consumption.

The American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.