‘Magic Bullets’ for Cardiovascular Patients

A man described as one of the most outstanding medical researchers of his generation has been recognised in this year's Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.

Professor Levon Khachigian, a vascular biologist, has won the NSW Office for Science and Medical Research Jamie Callachor Eureka Prize for Medical Research for his development of DNAzymes and other small molecule inhibitors. These potential drugs may have far-reaching therapeutic effects on the treatment of cardiovascular disease and other conditions involving abnormal growth and inflammation, such as rheumatoid arthritis and ageing and diabetes-induced-blindness.

Existing anti-inflammatory treatments for cardiovascular patients induce multiple and sometimes harmful side-effects such as high blood pressure, obesity and immunosuppression. Khachigian's DNAzymes and other small molecule inhibitors - or ‘magic bullets' as he calls them - offer the promise of a long-awaited alternative and will be clinically trialed in humans from 2009.

"I like to think of our small molecule drugs as a ‘toolbox of nanoassassins', which we can use to target and shoot down bad gene products" says Khachigian. "These exceptionally innovative molecular agents prevent damage associated with cardiovascular events by targeting and removing problematic genes. And, because these same problematic genes are commanders in many other diseases, there is real potential to apply these assassins to other diseases like cancer."

Khachigian says he hopes his prize-winning research will result in less suffering, fewer repeat procedures and faster recovery for cardiovascular patients. "When one considers that in Australia, one person dies every ten minutes from cardiovascular disease, the opportunity to do good is enormous," he says.

Australian Museum Director, Frank Howarth says, "This truly revolutionary work will soon be applied in clinical trials on humans. Professor Khachigian, winner also of a Eureka prize for scientific research in 2003, is one of a new generation of researchers whose discoveries at the bench are contributing to diagnosis, treatment and prevention in human disease."

Khachigian refers to himself as the conductor of an orchestra of talented health and medical researchers committed to making a difference. "It's the alchemy of just such a team, hungry for discovery and building on strengths, that achieved this result," he says.

Impressively, this is Khachigian's second Eureka prize in 5 years. The prize was awarded at a ceremony held on 21 August 2007.