Robert Holton ( ~2025) 1993 年最先發現生產紫杉醇方法（Taxol 廣泛用於治療各種癌症； 無需從瀕危樹木中獲取其活性成分 ）的方法

 羅伯特·霍爾頓逝世，享年81歲；他的強效化療藥物拯救了生命——也拯救了樹木

他生產紫杉醇（Taxol）的方法，如今已廣泛用於治療各種癌症，無需從瀕危樹木中獲取其活性成分。

Robert Holton Dies at 81; His Potent Chemo Drug Saved Lives — and Trees

His method of producing the drug Taxol, now used widely to treat various cancers, eliminated the need to source its active compound from endangered trees.

“I have always been drawn to difficult problems, and synthesizing Taxol was a big one,” Dr. Holton said in 2018 during remarks at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Inventors in Washington, D.C. He was elected an academy fellow that year. “Seeing the drug’s success in treating so many patients has been an incredibly gratifying experience.”

The National Cancer Institute estimates that more than one million patients have been treated with Taxol. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1992 for ovarian cancer and, in 1994, for advanced breast cancer. The chemo agent is also used for the treatment of lung cancer and Kaposi’s sarcoma, among other malignancies, Dr. Boyd said.

「我一直對難題著迷，而合成紫杉醇就是其中一項重大挑戰，」霍爾頓博士在2018年於華盛頓特區舉行的美國國家發明家學會年會上致辭時說道。同年，他當選為學會院士。 “看到這種藥物成功治癒瞭如此多的患者，我感到非常欣慰。”

美國國家癌症研究所估計，已有超過一百萬名患者接受了紫杉醇的治療。該藥物於1992年獲得美國食品藥物管理局（FDA）批准用於治療卵巢癌，並於1994年獲得批准用於治療晚期乳癌。博伊德醫師表示，這種化療藥物也用於治療肺癌、卡波西氏肉瘤等惡性腫瘤。

 In 1999, Bristol Myers Squibb earned $1.5 billion from sales of the drug.

據佛羅裡達州立大學稱，透過許可協議，該校已獲得與霍爾頓博士的方法相關的超過3.5億美元的專利費。

其中約1.4億美元歸霍爾頓博士所有。該校於2018年宣布，該藥物合成技術產生的專利費收入「是美國所有大學授權技術中最高的」。

Robert A. Holton, in an undated photo. He completed his synthesis of the drug Taxol in 1993, beating dozens of competitors.Credit...Florida Inventors Hall of Fame