Ramakanth Sarabu (June 20, 1955 – February 11, 2021) was an Indian organic chemist. He is known for his contributions in diabetes research, specifically the work of Glucokinase activation as a treatment therapy for type 2 diabetes.

Ramakanth Sarabu
Image of Ramakanth Sarabu
Born
Ramakanth Sarabu

(1955-06-20)June 20, 1955
DiedFebruary 11, 2021(2021-02-11) (aged 65)
NationalityIndian
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materOsmania University * Indian Institute of Technology * Case Western Reserve University * Harvard University
Scientific career
FieldsMedicinal Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Drug Discovery
Diabetes Research
InstitutionsHoffmann-La Roche
Biocon Bristol Myers Squib
Cellarity

Biography

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Ramakanth Sarabu was born in Hyderabad, Telangana where he received his early education. He earned a master's degree from Osmania University in Organic Chemistry and his doctorate from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in Molecular Rearrangements from 1979 to 1984.[1] In 1984 he moved to the US to pursue post-doctoral fellowship under Elias James Corey, at Harvard University.[2][3][4] He did a second post-doctoral fellowship in 1985 at Case Western University in Cleveland, OH.[5][6] He is known for his works and contributions in the domain of Glucokinase activation as a treatment therapy for type 2 diabetes.[7]

He died on 11 February 2021 in Montville, New Jersey,[8] while serving as the Head of Chemistry at Cellarity.[9][10] Prior to that, from 1997 to 2012, he served at Hoffmann-La Roche at different positions like Research Leader, Senior Principal Scientist etc.[11] He then went on to become the Head of Medicinal Chemistry at Biocon Bristol Myers Squibb R&D Center from 2012 to 2019.[12][13][14][15]

Notable publications

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  • Sarabu R, Grimsby J. Targeting glucokinase activation for the treatment of type 2 diabetes—a status review. Current Opinion in Drug Discovery & Development. 2005 Sep;8(5):631–637.
  • Allosteric Activators of Glucokinase: Potential Role in Diabetes Therapy, Science Magazine 18 June 2003.[16]
  • Philip Garner and Sarabu Ramakanth, Stereodivergent synthesis of threo and erythro 6-amino-6-deoxyheptosulose derivatives via an optically active oxazolidine aldehyde, https://doi.org/10.1021/jo00363a044
  • Philip Garner and Sarabu Ramakanth, A regiocontrolled synthesis of N7- and N9-guanine nucleosides https://doi.org/10.1021/jo00241a032
  • David R. Bolin, Amy L. Swain, Ramakanth Sarabu, Steven J. Berthel etc. Peptide and Peptide Mimetic Inhibitors of Antigen Presentation by HLA-DR Class II MHC Molecules. Design, Structure−Activity Relationships, and X-ray Crystal Structures https://doi.org/10.1021/jm000034h
  • Glucokinase Activators for Diabetes Therapy – Franz M. Matschinsky, Bogumil Zelent, Nicolai Doliba, Changhong Li, Jane M. Vanderkooi, Ali Naji, Ramakanth Sarabu, Joseph Grimsby, Diabetes Care May 2011, 34 (Supplement 2) S236-S243; DOI: 10.2337/dc11-s236[17]
  • Glucokinase activation repairs defective bioenergetics of islets of Langerhans isolated from type 2 diabetics- Nicolai M. Doliba, Wei Qin, Habiba Najafi, Chengyang Liu, Carol W. Buettger, Johanna Sotiris, Heather W. Collins, Changhong Li, Charles A. Stanley, David F. Wilson, Joseph Grimsby, Ramakanth Sarabu, Ali Naji, and Franz M. Matschinsky, American Journal of Physiology. Endocrinology and Metabolism 2012 302:1, E87-E102, https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.00218.2011
  • Discovery of Piragliatin—First Glucokinase Activator Studied in Type 2 Diabetic Patients – Ramakanth Sarabu, Fred T. Bizzarro, Wendy L. Corbett etc. https://doi.org/10.1021/jm3008689
  • Glucokinase Activators for the Potential Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes, Grimsby, J.; Berthel, S. J.; Sarabu, R.Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry, Volume 8, Number 17, 2008, pp. 1524–1532(9), https://doi.org/10.2174/156802608786413483

Notable Patents

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  • Para-amine substituted phenylamide glucokinase activators[18]
  • α-acyl- and α-heteroatom-substituted benzene acetamide glucokinase activators[19]
  • 5-substituted-six-membered heteroaromatic glucokinase activators[20]
  • DPP IV inhibitors[21]

References

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  1. ^ ORCID. "Ramakanth Sarabu (0000-0001-6083-3045)". orcid.org. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  2. ^ Garner, Philip; Ramakanth, Sarabu (1986-06-01). "Stereodivergent synthesis of threo and erythro 6-amino-6-deoxyheptosulose derivatives via an optically active oxazolidine aldehyde". The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 51 (13): 2609–2612. doi:10.1021/jo00363a044. ISSN 0022-3263.
  3. ^ "Group Members: Elias James Corey". www.hcs.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  4. ^ "Photo Gallery: Elias James Corey". www.hcs.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  5. ^ "Ramakanth Sarabu, Head of Chemistry, Cellarity". www.topionetworks.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  6. ^ Park, Jung Min (1990). The development of a synthetically useful penaldic acid equivalent and its application to the asymmetric synthesis of polyoxin J (PhD dissertation). Case Western Reserve University.
  7. ^ Grimsby, J.; Berthel, S. J.; Sarabu, R. (2008-11-01). "Glucokinase Activators for the Potential Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes". Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry. 8 (17): 1524–1532. doi:10.2174/156802608786413483. PMID 19075763.
  8. ^ "Ramakanth Sarabu Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information". shookscedargrove.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  9. ^ "Ramakanth Sarabu". Cellarity. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  10. ^ Line, A. TARDE On. "Cellarity se associa à Excelra para enriquecer o banco de dados GOSTAR com a plataforma de descoberta de medicamentos". Portal A TARDE (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  11. ^ "Ramakanth Sarabu, Head of Chemistry, Cellarity". www.topionetworks.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  12. ^ Bajpai, Lakshmikant; Asokan, Kathiravan; Samy, Santhiagu; Murugesan, Shyamsundar; Gurram, Ramya; Lokamma, Leelavathi; Kanthappa, Venkatesh T.; Zhang, Yingru (2016-12-01). "A Simple and Efficient Approach for Estimating Recovery of a Preparative Reversed Phase HPLC Purification". Chromatographia. 79 (23): 1577–1583. doi:10.1007/s10337-016-3191-0. ISSN 1612-1112. S2CID 100011007.
  13. ^ "Europe PMC". europepmc.org. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  14. ^ Subbaiah, Murugaiah A. M.; Meanwell, Nicholas A.; Kadow, John F.; Subramani, Lakshumanan; Annadurai, Mathiazhagan; Ramar, Thangeswaran; Desai, Salil D.; Sinha, Sarmistha; Subramanian, Murali; Mandlekar, Sandhya; Sridhar, Srikanth (2018-05-10). "Coupling of an Acyl Migration Prodrug Strategy with Bio-activation To Improve Oral Delivery of the HIV-1 Protease Inhibitor Atazanavir". Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 61 (9): 4176–4188. doi:10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00277. ISSN 0022-2623. PMID 29693401.
  15. ^ Tiwari, Ranjeet; Ahire, Deepak; Kumar, Hemantha; Sinha, Sarmistha; Chauthe, Siddheshwar Kisan; Subramanian, Murali; Iyer, Ramaswamy; Sarabu, Ramakanth; Bajpai, Lakshmikant (2017-12-01). "Use of Hybrid Capillary Tube Apparatus on 400 MHz NMR for Quantitation of Crucial Low-Quantity Metabolites Using aSICCO Signal". Drug Metabolism and Disposition. 45 (12): 1215–1224. doi:10.1124/dmd.117.077073. ISSN 0090-9556. PMID 28935657.
  16. ^ Grimsby, Joseph; Sarabu, Ramakanth; Corbett, Wendy L.; Haynes, Nancy-Ellen; Bizzarro, Fred T.; Coffey, John W.; Guertin, Kevin R.; Hilliard, Darryl W.; Kester, Robert F.; Mahaney, Paige E.; Marcus, Linda (2003-07-18). "Allosteric Activators of Glucokinase: Potential Role in Diabetes Therapy". Science. 301 (5631): 370–373. Bibcode:2003Sci...301..370G. doi:10.1126/science.1084073. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 12869762. S2CID 39168558.
  17. ^ Matschinsky, Franz M.; Zelent, Bogumil; Doliba, Nicolai; Li, Changhong; Vanderkooi, Jane M.; Naji, Ali; Sarabu, Ramakanth; Grimsby, Joseph (2011-05-01). "Glucokinase Activators for Diabetes Therapy: May 2010 status report". Diabetes Care. 34 (Supplement 2): S236–S243. doi:10.2337/dc11-s236. ISSN 0149-5992. PMC 3632186. PMID 21525462.
  18. ^ US 6489485, Bizzarro, Fred; Haynes, Nancy-Ellen & Sarabu, Ramakanth, "Para-amine substituted phenylamide glucokinase activators", published 2002-12-03, assigned to Hoffman La Roche 
  19. ^ US 6608218, Kester, Robert Francis & Sarabu, Ramakanth, "α-acyl- and α-heteroatom-substituted benzene acetamide glucokinase activators", published 2003-08-19, assigned to Hoffman La Roche 
  20. ^ US 7132425, Chen, Shaoqing; Corbett, Wendy Lea & Guertin, Kevin Richard et al., "5-substituted-six-membered heteroaromatic glucokinase activators", published 2006-11-07, assigned to Hoffman La Roche 
  21. ^ US 7803819, Boehringer, Markus; Hunziker, Daniel & Kuehne, Holger et al., "DPP IV inhibitors", issued 2007-07-17, assigned to Hoffman La Roche 
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