Robert Holton, a chemist who made significant advancements in the production of Taxol, passed away at 81 from emphysema. Taxol, derived from the Pacific yew tree, is a crucial chemotherapy drug used to treat various cancers, including breast and lung cancer, helping over a million patients. Eric Winer, a specialist in breast cancer, emphasized Taxol's importance, considering it one of the top chemotherapy drugs. Its discovery and use represent a collaborative scientific achievement, ultimately supported by substantial governmental research funding.
"Simply put," Winer said, "it's a drug that has added to people's lives and has cured patients."
Eric Winer, a breast cancer specialist who directs the Yale Cancer Center, cited Taxol as "certainly one of the top three chemotherapy drugs that have ever been developed."
More than 1 million people have been treated with the drug, according to the National Institutes of Health, which by one accounting invested as much as $484 million in Taxol-related research.
Discovered more than 50 years ago in the bark of the Pacific yew tree, Taxol remains one of the world's leading anticancer agents.
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