The American Society of Pharmacognosy Barry R. O’Keefe, Executive Committee American Society of Pharmacognosy Brandcenter, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, September 26, 2014
The American Society of Pharmacognosy Founded in 1959 in Chicago, IL to “ promote the growth and development of pharmacognosy, to provide opportunity for association among workers in science, to provide opportunities for presentation of research achievements, and to promote the publication of meritorious research.”
The American Society of Pharmacognosy The Premier Society in the United States Devoted to the Study of Natural Products • ASP members have been responsible for the discovery of several of the most important anti-cancer drugs used today. • Almost all of the currently used antibiotics have been derived from natural products. • Natural products are also the templates for antiviral, anti-cholesterol, anti-diabetic, anti-malaria and immunosuppressive agents as well as pain medications. • ASP members are also active in chemical ecology, biodiversity, responsible sourcing and sustainable development of plants, animals, microbes and marine organisms.
Why Should You Care About Pharmacognosy? The World’s Forests and Oceans are Rapidly Being Depleted of Unique Species. Natural Products Research and the ASP in Particular Support Biodiversity Efforts Around the Globe.
Why Should You Care About Natural Products? >50% of antimicrobial and anti-cancer drugs come from natural products. All Small Molecule Drugs Most large pharmaceutical companies have eliminated natural product screening from their discovery efforts.
A Sample of Approved NP-derived Drugs 2007-2012 Ingenol metubate Retapamulin basal cell carcinoma Omacetaxine mepesuccinate antibiotic 2012 chronic myelogenous leukemia 2007 2012 Trabectedin Romidepsin Ovarian, soft-tissue sarcoma T-cell Lymphomas 2007 2009 Ixabepilone Breast Cancer 2007 Less than 1% of biome Mifamurtide examined! Osteosarcoma 2009 Eribulin metastatic breast cancer 2010 Carfilzomib Multiple myeloma Fidaxomicin 2012 antibiotic 2011 Brentuximab, Hodgkin’s lymphoma 2011
So What Kind of Research Are We Talking About?
Ziconotide: Used for Pain Management
ASP Researchers are on the Forefront of Chemical Ecology and Microbial Genomics
ASP Researchers are Making a Difference in the Products You Buy ASP researchers in Botanical Centers funded by the U.S. Government work to standardize herbal products and confirm their activity in clinical trials
Cancer: An Example of the Impact of ASP Members Svoboda, Wall and Wani are all Honorary Gordon Svoboda isolated Vincristine in Members of the ASP 1961 from the Madagascar periwinkle. Monroe Wall and Mansukh Wani discovered This class of Taxol from the alkaloids is still Pacific Yew tree. Ken Rinehart’s the second most group isolated used class of anti- ectinascidin from a cancer drugs. sea squirt. It is now an approved drug To date Taxol is for ovarian cancer the best-selling anti-cancer drug ever made.
Griffithsin: A Personal Story • Griffithsia sp. (a red alga) originally collected in New Zealand • Aqueous extract displayed potent anti-HIV activity • Protein component of the extract had an anti-HIV activity <1 g/ml • Griffithsin active against HIV at 0.000000000043 grams per milliliter
Griffithsin: A Personal Story • Griffithsia sp. (a red alga) originally collected in New Zealand • Aqueous extract displayed potent anti-HIV activity • Protein component of the extract had an anti-HIV activity <1 g/ml • Griffithsin active against HIV at <3 billionths of a gram per milliliter
Griffithsin Production in Nicotiana benthamiana pGRFT Purification Griffithsin is now headed to clinical trials as an “ microbicide ” gel for use by women and men to prevent infection by HIV, HSV, HPV and HCV
The Type of Visibility We’d Prefer to Avoid
The Ebola Virus Epidemiology: - First outbreak in Zaire 1976 - Natural host is unknown - Transmission associated with close contact (blood or body fluids) - Current outbreak in Africa is the largest ever recorded, a global crisis Sign and Symptoms: (Abrupt Onset ) Fever Malaise Chills Loss of appetite Muscle aches Headache Abdominal pain Nausea/ vomiting Maculopaplar rash Clinical Features: - Incubation period: 4-21 days - Liver function impaired - Bleeding & dysregulated coagulation (clotting) - Morbidity/shock 6-9 days after onset - Case fatality rates high (40-90%) • No apparent immune response in fatal cases • Humanized antibodies currently being used for treatment • Vaccine for Zaire strain in Phase I clinical trial (safety)
Efficacy of Griffithsin Against Ebola Zaire 120 100 1 D-1 Treatments D-1 Treatments 80 Percent Survival 2 D0 Treatments D-0 Treatments 1hr Post Chall. 3 D1 Treatments D+1 Treatments 60 4 D2 Treatments D +2 Treatments PBS Control 5 D3 Treatments 40 D+3 Treatments 6 PBS Control (D- 1 Treat) 20 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 Time (Days) * Treatment ended on Day 10 All Surviving Mice have Permanent Neutralizing Immunity to Ebola Zaire
The Type of Visibility We’d Like to Encourage Report of a scientific meeting (American Chemical Society) Published in the journal Science Responsible description of the science (not overly hyped) The type of publicity we would like to generate from ASP annual meetings
The American Society of Pharmacognosy Potential Areas of Improvement for the ASP : 1. The Name of the Society 2. Membership 3. Organizational Structure 4. Information Dissemination 5. Technical Footprint 6. Annual Meetings 7. Logo and Graphics We hope that the VCU Brandcenter can help us to improve the recognition of the ASP in both the scientific and lay communities and that this will aid in enhancing membership and connecting with a new generation of scientists.
The Name of the Society or What is Pharmacognosy? This, unfortunately, is always the question! Pharmacognosy from the original Greek “ pharma ” drug and “ cognosy ” knowledge From Wikipedia: Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines derived from natural sources. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as the “ study of the physical, chemical, biochemical and biological properties of drugs, drug substances or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well as the search for new drugs from natural sources ” The ASP is concerned that most people, even scientists, have no idea what pharmacognosy means.
The Name of the Society The name of the Society must capture the core aspects of the mission of the ASP and be immediately identifiable by scientists and intuitively understandable by the lay public The name should represent the totality of the interdisciplinary sciences that make up modern research in natural products It is unusual to change the name of a scientific society, especially after 50 years. We are unlikely to ever change it again. The Society is increasingly international and we wish to encourage further international growth. As there have been changes in pharmacognosy over the last 50 years, there will be over the next 50; so the name must be broad enough to encompass the past, the present, and the future.
Membership Current Total Members (2014) = 668 North America = 75% Asia/MidEast/Australia/New Zealand = 14% Europe = 7% Africa = 2% South/Latin America = 2% Membership base = 771 (median paid membership last 5 years) Total membership = 1175 (all who have been members at one point) Current new members number <50 per year and generally only make up for lost members leaving membership stagnant or declining over the last 5 years ASP members include both scientists involved in research on the isolation and characterization of active molecules from natural sources and those devoted to herbal remedies and the traditional use of medicinal plants for health. Current estimates are that 4.5 billion people world-wide predominantly rely on medicinal plants as their source of medicines.
Membership A complete membership directory with contact information for all ASP members is available on line to members and will be made available to VCU Project Teams to obtain information/opinion from ASP members worldwide (its an iPhone App).
Organizational Structure ASP- main scientific society ASP Foundation – associated non-profit charity Journal of Natural Products – society scientific journal co-published with the American Chemical Society • Society governed by an elected Executive Committee (4 yr terms) led by a President elected for a 1 year term • Officers include Treasurer and Secretary (5 year terms) and a Vice- president (1 year term prior to becoming president) • Recently 1 permanent employee hired in support of the treasurer and the society in general. • The Foundation is run by an appointed board and treasurer.
Information Dissemination Mainly through two electronic avenues The ASP Web Site - public access except for member directory The ASP Newsletter – delivered by email to members and archived on the ASP web site.
The ASP Newsletter • Published electronically four times a year. • Generally over 20 pages of text • No current advertising • Sent to all ASP members by email as part of membership • Produced by a volunteer and co-workers who receive honoraria
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