The ACS GCI Pharmaceutical Roundtable (ACS GCIPR) formally recognized Dr. Berkeley “Buzz” Cue for his vision, leadership, and dedication, as he steps back from his active role in the roundtable. The ACS GCIPR was founded by Dr. Cue and Dr. Paul Anastas in 2005 as a partnership between ACS GCI and global pharmaceutical-related corporations in order to catalyze the implementation of green chemistry and green engineering in the global pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Cue, is a consultant, author, recent ACS GCI Governing Board Chair, and led an influential career for over 28 years at Pfizer.
Under Dr. Cue’s tutelage, the Roundtable developed from a concept into an established organization making an impact on the global pharmaceutical industry and beyond. In appreciation of Dr. Cue’s work, the ACS GCIPR members recently presented him with a crystal award accompanied by highlights of the exciting Roundtable milestones including:
- Publishing the first papers providing an industry perspective on green chemistry and engineering research needs.
- Directly funding over $1.2 million in pharmaceutically-relevant green chemistry & engineering research.
- Expanding the scope of work from a small molecule process development focus to also include bio-pharma and medicinal chemistry.
- Defining Process Mass Intensity which is now considered the standard green chemistry metric in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Developing the solvent selection guide and reagent selection guide to help chemists make informed decisions.
- Influencing journals including Organic Process Research & Development, ChemSusChem, and Green Chemistry to encourage and/or require the use of greener alternatives to highly hazardous chemicals.
- Leveraging approximately $1.5 million of government funding (NIH and NSF) to support pharmaceutically relevant green chemistry research.
This list of achievements is far from complete, and more importantly, the industry is poised to continue its efforts for the foreseeable future. Dr. Cue’s foresight to establish the organization with Dr. Paul Anastas, and then his leadership as Chair and Advisor, have forever changed the way the industry develops medicines.
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