KNOXVILLE — A University of Tennessee pharmaceutical chemist who developed a testosterone replacement drug has been given the 2005 Wheeley Award for commercializing the results of his research.
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Dr. Duane Miller
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Dr. Duane Miller, chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the UT Health Science Center in Memphis, was recognized for his development of Andarine, a drug that can be used to treat the effects of andropause, the lowering of male testosterone levels because of age. Andropause frequently results in osteoporosis and the loss of muscle mass in aging males.
“It is my honor to recognize Duane Miller for his contributions to science and his efforts to bring the benefits of his research to all Tennesseans,” said David Millhorn, recently appointed vice president of research for the UT system.
Receiving honorable mentions were Dr. Peter Tsai, for his work at UT’s Textiles and Nonwovens Development Center, and Dr. Vince Pantalone of the UT Institute of Agriculture, for his work in bringing new soybean varieties to market.
Andarine, classed as a nonsteroidal selective androgen receptor modulator, is being brought to market by GTx, a Memphis-based company, in connection with Johnson & Johnson. The drug is in Phase II clinical trials.
Miller has shown that the drug does not have the cancer-causing potential and other serious side effects that traditional treatments with testosterone and steroids have.
Miller previously taught and conducted research at Ohio State University.
“I came to the University of Tennessee because of its entrepreneurial spirit,” Miller said, “and I’m grateful for all the success our team has enjoyed in transferring academic research into direct economic benefits.”
“Dr. Miller has been the most prolific researcher and inventor I have ever met,” said Robert Palmer, director of technology transfer for the UT Research Foundation’s Memphis office. “He demonstrates great zeal for transferring discoveries from his laboratory to the public through health-care professionals.”
The University of Tennessee is a Research-Extensive Institution as classified by the Carnegie Foundation, In 2004 the university won some $273 million in research awards and other sponsored programs. The UT Research Foundation had 59 invention disclosures, 14 patents issued, and 19 licenses of intellectual property executed in the same period.
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Contact:
Dr. Arlene Garrison, 865-974-6410
Bill Dockery, 865-974-2187
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