Marc Feldmann
Encyclopedia
Sir Marc Feldmann is an Australia
n immunologist
, and a professor at the Imperial College School of Medicine
where he is a head of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology.
degree from the University of Melbourne
in 1967, he earned a Ph.D. in Immunology at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
in 1972 with Sir Gustav Nossal.
He moved to London
in the 1970s, working first with Professor Avrion Mitchison at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund's Tumour Immunology Unit, then in 1985 moved to the Charing Cross Sunley Research Centre and the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology which joined with the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College in 2000.
In the 1980s he published a new hypothesis for the mechanism of induction of autoimmune diseases, highlighting the role of cytokine
s. Cytokines are potent signalling proteins, local hormones, which drive important processes like inflammation, immunity and cell growth. This model was validated in experiments with thyroid disease tissue. From 1984 he collaborated with Ravinder N. Maini
at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology to study disease mechanism in rheumatoid arthritis, a much more clinically important autoimmune disease, affecting 1% of the population.
In autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks and damages the body, leading to diease of various organs, for example joints in rheumatoid arthritis. Feldmann's group demonstrated that diseased joints have far more pro-inflammatory cytokines than normal, and identified one of these, Tumour Necrosis Factor Alpha, abbreviated TNFα as the key.
Blocking TNFα reduced levels of the other pro-inflammatory cytokines in test-tube models of arthritis, and this provided the rationale for testing TNF blockade in rheumatoid arthritis patients which had failed all existing treatment.
The first of a series of successful clinical trials was performed in 1992, at Charing Cross Hospital, now part of Imperial College Health Care Trusts Academic Health Science Centre, using an antibody, infliximab from Centocor, a biotech now part of Johnson and Johnson.
The success led to other companies joining the race to market, and by 1998, etanercept (Enbrel) was approved for treatment in the US, and by 1999, infliximab (Remicade) was also approved. Now there are 5 approved antiTNF drugs, and they are extensively used, with more than 2 million successfully treated patients.
Since then, TNFα inhibitors have become the therapy of choice for stopping the inflammatory and tissue-destructive pathways of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases including Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
"for identification of TNF blockade as an effective therapeutic principle in rheumatoid arthritis". In 2003, the two were awarded the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research
for discovery of anti-TNF
therapy as an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis
and other autoimmune disease
s. In 2004, the Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of University of Edinburgh. In 2007, Feldmann was awarded The European Patent Offices "European Inventor of the Year" in the Lifetime Achievement Category. In 2008 he was awarded the Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research
together with Maini. He was awarded the John Curtin Medal of the Australian National University.
He is Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
and of the Royal College of Pathologists
. He was elected a Fellow of several national Academies, the Academy of Medical Sciences
, the Royal Society
of London and is a Corresponding Member of Australian Academy of Science
, and a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences
, USA. He was knighted
in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n immunologist
Immunology
Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...
, and a professor at the Imperial College School of Medicine
Imperial College School of Medicine
The Imperial College School of Medicine is the medical school of Imperial College London in England, and one of the United Hospitals....
where he is a head of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology.
Biography
Feldman was born 2 December 1944 in Lvov, Poland near the Russian border to a Jewish family who managed to get to France immediately postwar. He emigrated from France to Australia at age eight. After graduating with an MBBSBachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae , are the two first professional degrees awarded upon graduation from medical school in medicine and surgery by universities in various countries...
degree from the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
in 1967, he earned a Ph.D. in Immunology at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research is Australia's oldest medical research institute.In 2011, the institute is home to more than 650 researchers who are working to understand, prevent and treat diseases including blood, breast and ovarian cancers; inflammatory diseases such as...
in 1972 with Sir Gustav Nossal.
He moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the 1970s, working first with Professor Avrion Mitchison at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund's Tumour Immunology Unit, then in 1985 moved to the Charing Cross Sunley Research Centre and the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology which joined with the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College in 2000.
In the 1980s he published a new hypothesis for the mechanism of induction of autoimmune diseases, highlighting the role of cytokine
Cytokine
Cytokines are small cell-signaling protein molecules that are secreted by the glial cells of the nervous system and by numerous cells of the immune system and are a category of signaling molecules used extensively in intercellular communication...
s. Cytokines are potent signalling proteins, local hormones, which drive important processes like inflammation, immunity and cell growth. This model was validated in experiments with thyroid disease tissue. From 1984 he collaborated with Ravinder N. Maini
Ravinder N. Maini
Sir Ravinder Nath Maini is rheumatology professor at the Kennedy Institute, part of Imperial College London. Maini was born in Ludhiana in the Punjab region of India but has lived most of his life in the UK...
at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology to study disease mechanism in rheumatoid arthritis, a much more clinically important autoimmune disease, affecting 1% of the population.
In autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks and damages the body, leading to diease of various organs, for example joints in rheumatoid arthritis. Feldmann's group demonstrated that diseased joints have far more pro-inflammatory cytokines than normal, and identified one of these, Tumour Necrosis Factor Alpha, abbreviated TNFα as the key.
Blocking TNFα reduced levels of the other pro-inflammatory cytokines in test-tube models of arthritis, and this provided the rationale for testing TNF blockade in rheumatoid arthritis patients which had failed all existing treatment.
The first of a series of successful clinical trials was performed in 1992, at Charing Cross Hospital, now part of Imperial College Health Care Trusts Academic Health Science Centre, using an antibody, infliximab from Centocor, a biotech now part of Johnson and Johnson.
The success led to other companies joining the race to market, and by 1998, etanercept (Enbrel) was approved for treatment in the US, and by 1999, infliximab (Remicade) was also approved. Now there are 5 approved antiTNF drugs, and they are extensively used, with more than 2 million successfully treated patients.
Since then, TNFα inhibitors have become the therapy of choice for stopping the inflammatory and tissue-destructive pathways of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases including Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
Prizes and fellowships
Marc Feldmann and Ravinder Maini shared many awards for their discovery. In 2000, Feldmann and Maini were awarded the Crafoord PrizeCrafoord Prize
The Crafoord Prize is an annual science prize established in 1980 by Holger Crafoord, a Swedish industrialist, and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord...
"for identification of TNF blockade as an effective therapeutic principle in rheumatoid arthritis". In 2003, the two were awarded the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research
Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research
Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award is awarded by the Lasker Foundation for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of disease. The award was renamed in 2008 in honor of Michael E. DeBakey...
for discovery of anti-TNF
TNF inhibitor
Tumor necrosis factor promotes the inflammatory response, which in turn causes many of the clinical problems associated with autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa and refractory asthma. These disorders are...
therapy as an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...
and other autoimmune disease
Autoimmune disease
Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body actually attacks its own cells. The immune system mistakes some part of the body as a pathogen and attacks it. This may be restricted to...
s. In 2004, the Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of University of Edinburgh. In 2007, Feldmann was awarded The European Patent Offices "European Inventor of the Year" in the Lifetime Achievement Category. In 2008 he was awarded the Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research
Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research
The Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research is given to honor the work of an active scientist in academia, industry or a scientific institute.- The Award :...
together with Maini. He was awarded the John Curtin Medal of the Australian National University.
He is Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
and of the Royal College of Pathologists
Royal College of Pathologists
The Royal College of Pathologists, founded in 1962, was established to co-ordinate this development and maintain the internationally renowned standards and reputation of British pathology. Today the College advises on a vast range of issues relating to pathology...
. He was elected a Fellow of several national Academies, the Academy of Medical Sciences
Academy of Medical Sciences
The Academy of Medical Sciences is the United Kingdom's national academy of medical sciences. It was established in 1998 on the recommendation of a group that was chaired by Michael Atiyah. Its president is John Irving Bell....
, the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
of London and is a Corresponding Member of Australian Academy of Science
Australian Academy of Science
The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...
, and a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, USA. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours.