Looking Back on My Life in Research over more than 40 Years

• Published in: YAKUGAKU ZASSHI Vol. 144; no. 1; pp. 71 - 85
• Main Author: Nishi, Takahide
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan 01.01.2024
• Subjects: azaindole; biotransformation; indole; medicinal chemistry; azaindole; biotransformation; indole; medicinal chemistry
• ISSN: 0031-6903; 1347-5231
• DOI: 10.1248/yakushi.23-00153

After graduating with a master’s degree from Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University in 1983, I worked in medicinal chemistry for 37 years at a pharmaceutical company and 4 years at a university. On this occasion of my retirement, I would like to summarize the memorable reactions from my life in research over more than 40 years. This includes an overview of my drug discovery research at pharmaceutical companies covering practical and effective synthetic methods of key intermediates for renin inhibitors, 1β-methylcarbapenem, neurokinin receptor antagonists and sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor agonists. I have also described microbial transformation reactions for phosphorylation and glucuronidation, as well as antibacterial cyclic peptide and ogipeptins. During this time, two years of studying at the Scripps Research Institute and three years of working in India were also very valuable experiences. Finally, I have summarized the results of synthetic research on indole and azaindole derivatives conducted at the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido over a period of four years.