WEHI Immunology Special Seminar hosted by Professor Alan Cowman

Dr John A. McCauley

Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry, Merck Sharp and Dohme, USA

Plasmepsin IX/X Dual inhibitors for the treatment and prevention of malaria: A WEHI/MSD Collaboration

Davis Auditorium

Join via SLIDO enter code #WEHIseminar

Including Q&A session

Please note this presentation will not be recorded

The 9-year WEHI/MSD collaboration has discovered Plasmepsins IX and X as promising new targets against the malaria parasite. Joint efforts uncovered the 3-stage activity of these targets and led to the invention of MK-7602, a dual-inhibitor clinical candidate for the potential treatment of malaria. The presentation will cover the biology, medicinal chemistry and clinical results from this collaboration, including our current work towards prevention of malaria.

John A. McCauley is a Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Merck in West Point, Pa. Over the past 28 years at Merck, John and his group have designed and synthesized seventeen clinical development compounds, including the combination therapy for treatment of hepatitis C virus infection, ZEPATIER (elbasvir/grazoprevir) as well as dual Plasmepsin IX/X inhibitor MK-7602 for the potential treatment of malaria.

John was awarded the Gordon E. Moore Medal from the Society of Chemical Industry, for Early Career Success in Innovation in 2015 and was recognized with an American Chemical Society Heroes of Chemistry Award in 2017 as part of the ZEPATIER team. He graduated from Swarthmore College with honors in chemistry and received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry with Professor Amos B. Smith, III at the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed the total synthesis of rapamycin. Following graduate studies, John worked with Professor Yoshito Kishi at Harvard University as an NIH postdoctoral fellow and completed the total synthesis of pinnatoxin A.

All welcome!