John L. Gainer

John L. Gainer (born July 19, 1938) is an American chemical engineer and co-founder and former chief scientific officer of Diffusion Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology and pharmaceutical company based in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.[1] Professor Gainer retired from his position as Chief Science Officer of Diffusion Pharmaceuticals in March, 2020.[2]

John Gainer

Gainer pioneered investigation into the mechanism of action underlying oxygen diffusion-enhancing compounds (ODECs) and invented the subclass of ODECs known as bipolar trans carotenoid salts.[3] The lead compound of this class is trans sodium crocetinate (TSC)[4] which Gainer invented while a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Virginia.

Education and career

Gainer earned a BS in chemical engineering from West Virginia University in 1960, and a PhD in chemical engineering in 1964 from the University of Delaware. He later accepted a professorship in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia.[1] In the early 1970s, he studied the prediction of diffusion rates of gases in liquids and began to investigate oxygen diffusion in biological systems, focusing particularly on the cardiovascular disease atherosclerosis.[5]

While at the University of Virginia, Gainer invented TSC by modifying certain natural products, including saffron, resulting in the creation of a novel single trans isomer carotenoid salt.[4] Using animal models, he then investigated the activity of TSC, exploring his theory that the drug would increase the transfer of oxygen through blood plasma into hypoxic tissues.[4][6] The drug's clinical promise became evident when Gainer and colleagues demonstrated that TSC could improve survival in animal models of severe hemorrhage while reversing the drop in blood pressure that accompanies the loss of large amounts of blood.[6] From his work with animal models, Gainer also predicted that TSC held promise for the treatment of cancer, stroke, myocardial infarction (heart attack), and other diseases associated with hypoxia and ischemia (a lack of oxygen delivery to tissues).[7][8] He was awarded the first of over a dozen patents on ODECs and TSC in 2000.[4][9]

Awards and honors

Gainer became professor emeritus in chemical engineering at the University of Virginia in 2005. He has been a member of the International Society on Oxygen Transport to Tissue since 1973, the year that the society was formed. He received the University of Virginia Alumni Association's Distinguished Professor Award and the Outstanding Teacher Award from the Southeastern Section of the American Society for Engineering Education.[3] The Virginia Healthcare Innovators "Medical Product or Device" award went to Gainer and Diffusion Pharmaceuticals in 2012, honoring his and the company's work on TSC.[10]

References
  1. "Executive Profile: John L. Gainer Ph.D." Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  2. "Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Announces Retirement of Chief Science Officer John L. Gainer". March 12, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  3. "John Gainer". Walker Research. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  4. US patent 6,060,511, Gainer J, "Trans-sodium crocetinate, methods of making and methods of use thereof", issued 2000-05-09
  5. Chisolm G, et al. (1972). "Plasma proteins, oxygen transport and atherosclerosis". Atherosclerosis. 15 (3): 327–343. doi:10.1016/0021-9150(72)90022-6.
  6. Giassi L, et al. (2001). "Trans-Sodium Crocetinate Restores Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Plasma Lactate after Hemorrhagic Shock". Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care. 51 (5): 932–938. doi:10.1097/00005373-200111000-00018. PMID 11706343.
  7. Gainer, J (2008). "Trans-sodium crocetinate for treating hypoxia/ischemia". Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs. 17 (6): 917–924. doi:10.1517/13543784.17.6.917. PMID 18491992.
  8. US patent 8,206,751, Gainer J, "New Class of Therapeutics that Enhance Small Molecule Diffusion", issued 2009-04-30
  9. "Diffusion Pharmaceuticals: Intellectual Property". Diffusion Pharmaceuticals. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  10. "Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Wins 2012 VA Healthcare Innovators Award". Virginia Biotechnology Association. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
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