Drugs from the Sea

Tyler Herrington

Chemistry 11

Mr. Tuckwell

Oct. 1, 2003

        Medicinal drugs are a very important issue to many humans today. They are used to prevent diseases and to cure infected people. Unfortunately, many strands of bacteria are now becoming immune to many of our current vaccines, and we urgently need to find new sources of disease fighting entities. A marine biology based institution, by the name of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, located on the coast of California, in La Jolla, has realized that the ocean has many great opportunities for new medicines; it is just a matter of where we look.

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        A marine biologist, based at this institution, by the name of William Fenical, is the director of marine based vaccine research. His current research could lead to future vaccines for cancer and possibly even today’s incurable viruses. He explains that the days of being able to just wander a forest, take a dirt sample, and find a medicinal substance are over. Many of the past medicines, he says, are becoming obsolete. Many marine vaccines are currently in clinical trial and a few look like they could be successful in the near future. Ecteinascidin 743, for example is a marine-based drug, ...

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