GLOBAL GOENKARS IN FOCUS
PANAJI
Multiple award-winning Goan scientist Donald J P Pinto achieved yet another distinction when he was recently awarded the prestigious 47th Annual Carothers Award in the US, in recognition of his outstanding contributions and advances in industrial applications of chemistry and medicinal chemistry.
THE AWARD
The Delaware Section of the American Chemical Society presented the 2024 Carothers Award
to Dr Pinto Ph.D., Senior Scientific Director at Bristol Myers Squibb pharmaceutical company in Princeton, New Jersey, at an event in Wilmington-Delaware on May 9.
The Delaware Section of the American Chemical Society is a professional organisation representing nearly 1,000 chemists and chemical engineers. For over 100 years, the Section has served its members and the community through enrichment, professional development, education, and the promotion of the public understanding of chemistry.
The Wallace H. Carothers Award was established by the Delaware Section of the American Chemical Society in 1976 in memory of Wallace H. Carothers, one of the founders of modern polymer chemistry. The purpose of the award is to honour scientific innovators who have made outstanding contributions and advances in industrial applications of chemistry.
Dr Donald J P Pinto receives the award from Anna J. Sigmon, PhD, Awards Chair of the Delaware Section of the American Chemical Society and Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the Penn State University-Brandywine Campus, Pennsylvania.
THE ACHIEVEMENTS
Dr Pinto has been working in the pharma industry for over 35 years in the areas of immunology and cardiovascular diseases. He has been instrumental in the discovery and clinical development of apixaban, sold under the brand name Eliquis®, an anticoagulant medication used to treat and prevent blood clots and to prevent stroke in people with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Eliquis® is now approved worldwide for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) and venous thromboembolism (VTE). Overall, his work has led to the advancement of six clinical compounds.
Dr Pinto is a co-author of over 150 research papers, US issued patents and presentations. He was a co-chair of the acute coronary syndrome heart failure symposium in 2015. His awards include the ACS Heroes of Chemistry award, the DuPont Pharmaceuticals Summit Award, the BMS Ondetti Cushman Award, for the discovery of Apixaban (Eliquis®).
He was also the recipient of the chemistry leadership award from Bristol-Myers Squibb for his significant contributions to the FXa programme, and the Sir James Black Award by the British Pharmacological Society for excellence in drug discovery.
LIFE IN GOA, US
Dr Pinto was born in Nairobi-Kenya, and the family moved back to Goa in the mid-60s.
His parents hail from Benaulim and Moira, and when they moved back to Goa, they settled in Ucassaim.
Pinto studied at the Holy Cross High School in Bastora and later completed his BSc in Chemistry and Physics with first class honours at St Xavier’s College in Mapusa.
While in St Xavier’s college, Dr Pinto participated in multiple extracurricular activities. He won the 10K individual walking race in Goa and came second in the all-Bombay University sports meet. He also participated in multiple sporting events, some of which were at the Bombay University level.
On completion of his B.Sc. degree, Pinto moved to the Center of Post Graduation Studies in Panaji. After a stellar academic education, Pinto was accepted to continue his higher education (PhD) at the State University of New York (SUNY at Buffalo) and moved to the US in 1980.
“I completed my PhD degree in the mid-80s and moved to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy NY for my post-doctoral fellowship. The training I got here prepared me for what was going to be a career in the pharma world,” said Dr Pinto.
Dr Pinto began his career at the experimental station of DuPont in the drug discovery division of medical products in Wilmington Delaware.
He subsequently moved to Bristol Myers Squibb pharmaceutical company in Princeton NJ through an acquisition, where he is currently pursuing molecular targets against cardiovascular diseases.
Dr Pinto is a member of the Goan Association in NJ (GOANJ) and belongs to a small Pennsylvania group known as GoaPA group who has membership spans across eastern USA (PA/NJ/NY/DE).
Dr Pinto says he owes a lot of his success to his wife Blossom, and his three children, Kirk, Diane and Denise, who are quite successful in their own careers.
