Speaker Profile

Dr. Robert Shorr

Chief Executive Officer, Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals

Dr. Shorr obtained his PhD and DIC from the University of London Imperial college Department of Biochemistry, London England where he worked with Prof. Eric Barnard and Oliver Dolly. His thesis described the isolation and characterization of the acetylcholine receptor in mammalian skeletal muscle. His postdoctoral work was with Prof. Robert Lefkowitz and Marc Caron at the Howard Hughes Research Institute Duke University Medical Center, Durham North Carolina where he focused on the isolation and characterization of different beta adrenergic receptors. In addition, while at Duke Dr. Shorr worked with Dr. Jeffrey Stadel to develop an understanding of the interaction of beta adrenergic receptors with G protein subunits and the activation of adenylate cyclase. At SmithKline and French Dr. Shorr was the associate Dir. for the Department of molecular pharmacology reporting to the president of worldwide R&D Dr. Stanley Crook. A focus on receptors and disease pathology continued. Dr. Shorr and his colleagues invented several new materials for electrophoretic separations of proteins and nucleic acids introducing the products to the market place through a newly formed company, AT biochem with the assistance of SmithKline and French and Beckman instruments. The company was later sold to Centocor and FMC. Dr. Shorr also became vice president for research and development at Enzon, Piscataway New Jersey. A drug delivery company focused on the attachment of polyethylene glycol strands to proteins, peptides and small molecule drugs for the treatment of human disease wherein the polyethylene glycol attachment would enhance circulating life time and often improve safety and efficacy. Polyethylene glycol conjugated hemoglobin, polyethylene glycol conjugated glucocerebrosidase, polyethylene glycol conjugated camptothecin, polyethylene glycol conjugated adenosine deaminase, polyethylene glycol conjugated arginine deiminase and polyethylene glycol conjugated alpha interferon were studied in human clinical trials. The approval of polyethylene glycol conjugated alpha interferon in partnership with Schering Plough, NJ, establishing the technology and company as a leader in drug delivery. Dr. Shorr served as vice president for technology and chief scientist for United Therapeutics where he was responsible with others for the invention of longer acting prostacyclin analogs for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. In addition Dr. Shorr served as Dir. for business development for the State University of New York at Stony Brook biotechnology center and as associate professor in the department of biomolecular engineering. Dr. Shorr and his partner Robert Rodriguez established Altira capital and consulting and worked with Chris Prior PhD to establish Principia a company using human serum albumin conjugates for drug delivery and which was later sold to Human Genome Sciences. Altira capital worked with other groups to establish Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals a company focused on developing cancer metabolism-based drugs and drug delivery systems. The proprietary work described here emerges from Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals where Dr. Shorr is currently CEO and chief scientist. The company's bioenergetics metabolism targeting drugs are in clinical trials. The drug delivery technology described herein is in preparation for clinical study.





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