Nordic Life Science 1
catalyze reactions that are not catalyzed by natu
rally occurring enzymes, such as carbon-silicon bonds. I many cases, the enzymes that Arnold has developed offer a more effective and environmentally friendly alternative to the current metallic catalyzed reactions.” Carl Borrebaeck Following the Nobel announcement, Arnold explained to Adam Smith of Nobel Media that what she actually does is “copies nature’s design process”: “All this tremendous beauty and complexity of the biological world all comes about through this one simple, beautiful design algorithm, and what I do is use that algorithm to build new biological things. And to me it’s not … it’s obvious, it’s totally obvious that this is the way it should be done.” In her Nobel lecture entitled “Bringing new chemistry to life”, she described how her discovery is a versatile tool to make this planet a better place. She further emphasized in her speech at the Nobel Banquet that it is all too easy to apply the evolution incorrectly: both in practice and in theory. Therefore, we must use the term wisely. HE CHEMISTRY LAUREATES’ groundbreaking work harnesses the process of evolution for the generation of novel biological compounds. Enzymes produced through directed evolution are used to manufacture everything from biofuels to pharmaceuticals, and antibodies evolved using phage display can combat autoimmune diseases and in some cases cure metastatic cancer. Half of the Prize was awarded to Frances H. Arnold, who is a chemical engineer at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Arnold carried out pioneering work in the 1990s on the directed evolution of enzymes: proteins that catalyze chemical reaction. She developed methods for inducing mutations in enzymeproducing bacteria and then screening and selecting the bacteria to speed up and direct enzyme evolution. “Nowadays, her methods are routinely used in the chemical industry, for example in the manufacturing of chemical substances, such as pharmaceuticals, and in the manufacturing of renewable fuels for a greener transportation sector,” says Claes Gustafsson, Professor of Medical Biochemistry at the University of Gothenburg and Chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry 2018. “I am very impressed by Arnold’s ability to develop new enzymes that George Smith, currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri, is someone who has used the term well. Smith shares the other half of the Chemistry Prize with Sir Gregory Winter. In 1985 Smith developed a method where a bacteriophage – that is to say, a virus that infects bacteria – is used to evolve new proteins. He coined his method phage display, which can be used to quickly select new binding proteins. Gregory Winter, currently Researcher Emeritus at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the U.K., used phage display for directed evolution of antibodies. His goal was to produce new pharmaceuticals. Adalimumab (Humira) was the first produced with this method. Approved by the FDA in 2002, it has become a blockbuster drug used to treat illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG 45 PHOTO APELÖGA