Pedro Cuatrecasas

Pedro Cuatrecasas
Born(1936-09-27)27 September 1936
Died19 March 2025(2025-03-19) (aged 88)
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationWashington University School of Medicine, M.D. 1962
Known forInvention of affinity chromatography
AwardsWolf Prize in Medicine
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry, pharmacology, medicine
InstitutionsUC San Diego

Pedro Cuatrecasas (27 September 1936 – 19 March 2025) was a Spanish-born American biochemist and academic who was an adjunct professor of Pharmacology & Medicine at the University of California San Diego.[1]

Background

Pedro Cuatrecasas was born in Madrid, Spain on 27 September 1936.[2] He completed his A.B. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1958. He completed his M.D. from Washington University School of Medicine in 1962.

Cuatrecasas died in La Jolla, California on 19 March 2025, at the age of 88.[3]

Research

Cuatrecasas is known for the invention and development of affinity chromatography, a process utilized within the Aethlon HemopurifierTM. He was involved in the discovery, development and marketing registration of more than forty medicines. Some of those medicines include: zidovudine (AZT, AIDS), acyclovir (Zovirax, anti-herpes), permethrin (Rid, head and body lice), bupropion (Wellbutrin, antidepressant), colfosceril palmitate (Exosurf, infant acute respiratory distress), remifentanil (Ultiva, analgesic/anesthetic), sumatriptan (Imigran, migraine), salmeterol (Serement, asthma), tacrine (Cognex, Alzheimers), gabapentin (Neurontin, epilepsy and neuropathic pain), troglitazone (Rezulin, diabetes), and atorvastatin (Lipitor, cholesterol lowering).

In 1987, Cuatrecasas was awarded the Wolf Prize in Medicine in 1987 along with Meir Wilchek "for the invention and development of affinity chromatography and its applications to biomedical sciences."[4]

References

  1. ^ "Pedro Cuatrecasas at the University of California San Diego". Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
  2. ^ The International Who's Who, 1989-90. Europa Publications. 1989. ISBN 9780946653508.
  3. ^ Pedro Cuatrecasas Obituary. obits.mlive.com. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  4. ^ The Wolf Prize in Medicine