Allen Roses, MD, director of the Deane Drug Discovery Institute at the Duke University School of Medicine, will receive this year’s Award for Public Service from the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for his leadership in advancing the field of pharmacogenomics through his work at GlaxoSmithKline and at Duke.

“Because of pharmacogenomic studies and testing, adverse reactions to drugs can now be diagnosed without patients having to take the drug”, Roses says.

This award is given annually to a person who has made significant contributions to the advancement of rational drug-therapy initiatives across society. Roses will receive the award and present a seminar on September 14 at 4:00 p.m. in 1131 BioInformatics Building, 130 Mason Farm Road, on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. A reception will immediately follow.

Currently the director of the Deane Drug Discovery Institute at the Duke University School of Medicine, Roses was senior vice president for genetics research and pharmacogenetics at GlaxoSmithKline from 1997 to 2008, where he helped make genetics an important part of drug development.

“Allen’s work at GSK culminated with the definitive demonstration that pharmacogenomic-driving abacavir therapy can eliminate a severe drug reaction,” says Howard McLeod, PharmD, director of IPIT and a Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. “His work caused the field of pharmacogenomics to transform from a sub-discipline to a major driver in personalized medicine.” Abacavir is used to treat HIV infection and AIDS.

At GSK, Roses organized genetic strategies for susceptibility-gene discovery, pharmacogenetics strategy and implementation, and integration of genetics into medicine discovery and development. Subsequently, he headed research in clinical genetics, genomics, proteomics, pharmacogenetics, and bioinformatics in support of the entire R&D pipeline.

During his initial twenty-seven-year tenure at Duke, he led research to uncover genetic links associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease. He is known for his work surrounding the discovery of the ApoE4 gene association that was found to predispose those with the gene to earlier Alzheimer's. Recently he published on a phylogenetic analysis of TOMM40 and APOE, finding that an inherited variable polyT length polymorphism explained the APOE4 genetics and contributed to the understanding of the role of APOE3.

“The TOMM40 discovery allows us to design a prevention, or delay of onset clinical trial for Alzheimer’s disease. The FDA conributed to the final design of OPAL [Opportinity to Prevent Alzheimer’s] and, in collaboration with a major pharma company, will initiate in 2011,” Roses says. “For me, prevention treatment trumps diagnosis without an available drug for those at high risk.”

Allen Roses, MD

Roses was senior vice president for genetics research and pharmacogenetics at GlaxoSmithKline from 1997 to 2007 and rejoined Duke University in 2008. He serves in several capacities at Duke as the Jefferson Pilot Professor of Neurobiology and Genetics; as professor of medicine (neurology); and also as director of the Deane Drug Discovery Institute at Duke that will employ an innovative new model designed to fill the void between academic drug discovery and translational medicine.

Roses was a member of the Science Board of the FDA between 2003 and 2007. He was a member of the board’s Subcommittee on Science and Technology that in 2007 authored the report FDA Science and Mission at Risk. He continues to consult with the FDA and other regulatory agencies in the field of pharmacogenetics and companion diagnostics.

Roses founded Cabernet Pharmaceuticals in 2008 to provide pharmacogenetics and project-management services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, clinical-research and managed-health-care organizations, and academic institutions. He has formed a team of consultants with deep experience in the practical application of pharmacogenomics to drug development that currently are imbedded consultants at several pharmaceutical companies.

He founded Zinfandel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 2009 to manage a pharmacogenetics-designed delay of onset/prevention study of Alzheimer’s disease based on Alzheimer’s risk in normal elderly over the next five years, projected to begin in 2011. This trial would validate the clinical utility of TOMM40 and possibly demonstrate a preventive response of a drug.

UNC Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy

The institute was formed in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy as a collaborative effort with the School of Medicine, Gillings School of Global Public Health, and the School of Nursing and with support from the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Carolina Center for Genome Sciences. Pharmacogenomics is the study of how genetic variation among individuals contributes to differences in the way people respond to medicines.