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PARIS - Can shellfish poisoning lead to a wonder drug? In a counter-intuitive stroke that has received a United Nations accolade, one of New Zealand's top scientists believes so.
University of Auckland professor Margaret Brimble says shellfish toxins, which can cause diarrhoea, paralysis and amnesia, can be harnessed in the quest for new treatments for pain, epilepsy, strokes and hypertension.
Professor Brimble believes a potential "medicine chest" exists if the world is prepared to "open the door". Molecules in plants, soil organisms and the sea are waiting to be discovered, tested and manipulated; all with the goal of tackling diseases and conditions once viewed as daunting or even unconquerable.
And, as the toxins caused in mussels and scallops by "red tide" algal bloom show, some of these promising pharmaceutical leads can be found in the unlikeliest places.
"What we do is we look to nature to find new active ingredients or molecules to develop into new medicines," Professor Brimble said in Paris, where she received an award from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) this week.
"One example is a compound produced by fungi which kills the bacterium that causes infected ulcers. The compound occurs in nature. It is produced by the fungi but only in small amounts. So we then try and make that compound in the laboratory and make structure analogues similar to that compound that may be better - and that's the way you develop new medicines."
In receiving the annual $145,000 L'Oreal-Unesco prize - sponsored by the French cosmetics giant - Professor Brimble, 45, was named as one of the world's five outstanding women scientists. "Their work has contributed to remarkable progress in modern science," said Unesco director-general Koichiro Matsuura.
The award is the latest in a long string of acknowledgements for Professor Brimble, a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in Britain and the Royal Society of New Zealand, who was made a member of the Order of Merit in 2003.
Born and raised in Auckland, Professor Brimble attended Diocesan School and Auckland University, then did her doctorate at Southampton University in Britain. After stints as visiting professor at Berkeley University in California and the University of Sydney, she returned home in 1999. She established this country's first degree in organic and medical chemistry - a melding of the disciplines of biology and chemistry - and now has a fast-growing roster of young researchers under her wing.
The team's strength is to look at natural poisons, make them in the lab and see how they affect cells in the nervous system. This knowledge, in turn, opens the way for molecules to reverse the effects of the original toxins and throw up leads for combating or protecting against neurological disorders. The task is part intuition but mainly dogged hard work that can take months.
Working with a small Auckland biotech firm, Neuren Pharmaceuticals, Professor Brimble's team has developed two drugs that are in early trials on human volunteers - one for traumatic brain injury and the other for Parkinson's disease.
Professor Brimble is optimistic an enduring culture of excellence is developing in the field.
"We are getting the best students. Some go overseas but we retain a lot." She thinks this country's small pharmaceutical industry could soar. "All we have to do is get one successful drug on the market and we're there ... the first drug for a neuroprotective agent will be a billion-dollar product.
"I'd like to get the message out there that we really do need to be investing in fundamental science and we need to be developing a knowledge society, because from that comes growth."
