Publications b y Scientists in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry
January, February, March Journal
1857
19.58
Total
% of Total
J. Organic Chemistry 48/261 37/206 85/467 18 J. Phamacol. and Ezp. Therap. 9/38 4/36 13/74 18 3. Biolo@cal Chemistry Archives of Biochemistry and Bionhusies
0/146
1/158
1/304
4/90
7/87
11/177
0.3 6
In the Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics industry published 1 in 17. Half of these concerned analytical methods. What is the significance of this7 To me it indicates that a t a time when the biochemist is making great strides in mechanisms of living processes chemical and pharmaceutical industry are not making direct use of his talents as a biochemist. The limited publications in the biochemical journals indicate a number of things: Relatively few biochemists are employed by industry. Many who are called such are in effect organic chemists. Those biochemists who are in industry cannot or do not pursue lines of research resulting in papers acceptable by their professional journals. By contrast organic chemists and pharmacologists can do so readily. The impression I have of much of research in pharmaceutical industry is that it still adheres to the principle of leadelship by organic chemists and pharmacologists and that these two utilize the biochemist in a service capacity. Thus, the biochemist may be told: "We have a new compound; develop a method for assay. How is this given compound metabolized? What enzyme does our new drug affect?" Obviously these are necessary services which a biochemistry laboratory in industry should supply. They are bread and butter functions, but the biochemist cannot survive as a scientist on bread and butter alone. If he is to flourish as a distinct member of the research team, he shonld be permitted to explore biochemical leads on his own, and to make sn~gestionsto the organic chemists and pharmacologists in turn. There is no reason why a biochemistry laboratory in industry should not be able to conduct research which is a t one and the same time intellectuauy stimulating and also of potential value in developing new therapeutic agents. With all the interest in drugs which can influence monoamine oxidase, catechol methylpherase, and amino acid decarboxylases, why shouldn't biochemists in industry work on purifying these enzymes? It is certainly possible that. identification of the cofactor of
MA0 could lead to a better understanding of how MA0 inhibitors work and therefore to new agents. In any event isn't it desirable to have members on the staff who know more about the problem than the mere bioassay procedure involved in screening? The biochemistry of the bacterial cell wall would also be an excellent and timely study leading to many fundamental and practical things. Too frequently the industrial biochen~istis permitted only to pursue the screening portion of a research problem and leave the most exciting portions for others. This can be quite frustrating. Alternatively his talents may be used for more biological or chemical programs. I don't believe that i t is a luxury to permit biochemists to carry on stimulating biochemical research programs. One can point to many departments outside industry from which numerous practical contributions continue t o come year after year. Would not such departments be just as useful within an industrial framework? I believe they would. However, careful examination reveals that a biochemistry laboratory to be able to function so that it can satisfy both the research requirements and day to day developmental studies would have to he much larger than any in industry today. I believe that there is a critical size of a laboratory below which a company cannot make proper use of a biochemical group even if it so desires. Increasing the professional and technical manpower of a biochemical laboratory beyond a certain point increases the thinking and research potential far in excess of the mere number of individuals hired. I believe that in its initial overtures to biochemistry industry is doing what appears to be sensible; that is, building up the size of lahoratones slowly as one would do in any experimental venture. However, I think that this is a serious error. I firmly believe that the first company which decides to build a department of biochemistry in the same manner as is done in a university or research institute will find itself in a very favorable position. What I mean by this is not only the setting up of a department under the direction of an outstanding investigator but the understanding that he will be permitted to select a staff of his own choosing and to participate in those areas of research which are of interest to him and his colleagues. The contributions from such a department to the company should then be measured not in the number of products but in the number of interesting findings of biological or pharmacological significance. With a sufficient number of these findings the organic chemist, biologist, and clinician should be able to increase significantly their rate of development of new therapeutic agents.
Chem Gems
Dializer
Quartz
S t e r e o Chemistry
Reprinted by permission from the "Scimtwisls" page of the Gaesee Valley CHEMzlnieations (Rochester Section, ACS). Volume 37, Number 4, April 1960
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