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Gertrude Elion was an enormously productive and
successful chemist. In addition to treatments for
leukemia, the herpes virus, gout, and immunity
disorders, she also helped to develop medications
for arthritis, malaria, and bacterial infections,
among other diseases. At a time when biochemical
knowledge was far more limited than it is today and
when many of our current sophisticated scientific
instruments had yet to be invented, she and
Hitchings were able to create remedies for some
terrible medical problems.
Elion and Hitchings' revolutionary approach to
drug development, based on an understanding of the
chemical composition of disease and healthy cells
and the differences between them, has become
standard in pharmaceutical research. In years to
come, scientists will be able to use their methods
in search of cures for the world's remaining
scourges, including the cancer Elion had always
hoped to vanquish.
When Elion died on February 21, 1999, the head
of Glaxo Wellcome observed astutely, "Gertrude
Elion's love of science was surpassed only by her
compassion for people." Her generous heart and
brilliant mind touched countless individuals around
the world. In the drugs she developed, the
scientists she influenced, and the young people she
inspired, she left a legacy that will benefit
humanity for years to come.
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