The overall objective of this research program is to discover and develop new drugs for the treatment of cancer. The role of Dr. Faulkner's research group in the collaborative research program is to isolate and identify novel anti-tumor agents from marine invertebrates, primarily sponges, ascidians and shell-less molluscs. An important difference between this proposal and other current research projects is that the specimens to be performed by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and that the isolation will be guided, wherever possible, by bioassays performed at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) or BMS. Once a compound is recognized as potentially suitable for development, it will be identified using non- destructive methods. If required, we will recollect large quantities of the source organism, verify the authenticity of the sample and develop methods for large-scale extraction and purification of sufficient material to allow BMS to fully evaluate the compound. In a limited number of cases, we may provide derivatives of A lead compound for evaluation but we will leave total syntheses in the hands of BMS chemists. Within the collaborative project, Dr. Faulkner's group will have primary responsibility for studies on sponges, tunicates and shell-less molluscs with secondary responsibilities in the area of other marine invertebrates and macroscopic algae. We will establish the collection protocols for marine invertebrates and will be responsible for their identification and recollection. We have decided to base our collection program in South African, where Dr. Davies-Coleman has agreed to coordinate collections from South Africa and adjacent countries on the Indian Ocean. We also hope to have an opportunity to collect in the Red Sea. In the period prior to the first collections in South Africa, we will complete our studies of Philippines marine invertebrates and screen a collection from California. We anticipate that this project will continue to produce an appreciable number of bioactive compounds with potential for the treatment of cancer.
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