Ramakanth Sarabu Explained

Ramakanth Sarabu
Birth Name:	Ramakanth Sarabu
Birth Date:	20 June 1955
Birth Place:	Telangana, India
Nationality:	Indian
Citizenship:	American
Alma Mater:	Osmania University * Indian Institute of Technology * Case Western Reserve University * Harvard University
Field:	Medicinal Chemistry Organic Chemistry Drug Discovery Diabetes Research
Work Institutions:	Hoffmann-La Roche Biocon Bristol Myers Squib Cellarity

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.

Biography

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

• 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

• 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]

External links

• Ramakanth Sarabu at Google Scholar
• Ramakanth Sarabu at ORCID
• Ramakanth Sarabu at Scinapse

Notes and References

1. Web site: ORCID. Ramakanth Sarabu (0000-0001-6083-3045). 2021-04-22. orcid.org. en.
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. 10.1021/jo00363a044. 0022-3263.
3. Web site: Group Members: Elias James Corey. 2021-04-22. www.hcs.harvard.edu.
4. Web site: Photo Gallery: Elias James Corey. 2021-04-22. www.hcs.harvard.edu.
5. Web site: Ramakanth Sarabu, Head of Chemistry, Cellarity. 2021-04-22. www.topionetworks.com.
6. Park . Jung Min . 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 . 1990 . en.
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. 10.2174/156802608786413483. 19075763 .
8. Web site: Ramakanth Sarabu Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information. 2021-04-22. shookscedargrove.com.
9. Web site: Ramakanth Sarabu. 2021-04-22. Cellarity. en.
10. Web site: Line. A. TARDE On. Cellarity se associa à Excelra para enriquecer o banco de dados GOSTAR com a plataforma de descoberta de medicamentos. 2021-04-22. Portal A TARDE. pt-br.
11. Web site: Ramakanth Sarabu, Head of Chemistry, Cellarity. 2021-04-22. www.topionetworks.com.
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. en. 79. 23. 1577–1583. 10.1007/s10337-016-3191-0. 100011007 . 1612-1112.
13. Web site: Europe PMC. 2021-04-22. europepmc.org.
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. 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00277. 29693401 . 0022-2623.
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. en. 45. 12. 1215–1224. 10.1124/dmd.117.077073. 0090-9556. 28935657. free.
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. en. 301. 5631. 370–373. 10.1126/science.1084073. 0036-8075. 12869762. 2003Sci...301..370G . 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. en. 34. Supplement 2. S236–S243. 3632186. 10.2337/dc11-s236. 0149-5992. 21525462. free.
18. Para-amine substituted phenylamide glucokinase activators. 2002-12-03. US. 6489485. Hoffman La Roche. Bizzarro. Fred. Haynes. Nancy-Ellen. Sarabu. Ramakanth.
19. α-acyl- and α-heteroatom-substituted benzene acetamide glucokinase activators. 2003-08-19. US. 6608218. Hoffman La Roche. Kester. Robert Francis. Sarabu. Ramakanth.
20. 5-substituted-six-membered heteroaromatic glucokinase activators. 2006-11-07. US. 7132425. Hoffman La Roche. Chen. Shaoqing. Corbett. Wendy Lea. Guertin. Kevin Richard. Nancy-Ellen Haynes;Robert Francis Kester;Francis A. Mennona;Steven Gregory Mischke;Yimin Qian;Ramakanth Sarabu;Nathan Robert Scott;Kshitij Chhabilbhai Thakkar.
21. DPP IV inhibitors. 2007-07-17. US. 7803819. Hoffman La Roche. Boehringer. Markus. Hunziker. Daniel. Kuehne. Holger. Bernd Michael Loeffler;Ramakanth Sarabu;Hans Peter Wessel.