Kenneth Harrap

Professor Kenneth Reginald Harrap (1931-2017) was a British oncological biochemist.

Early life and education

Harrap was born in Streatham, London, on 20 November 1931. He was educated at Woking Grammar School and George Green's School, London.

Career

The early part of his career was directed at identifying biochemical abnormalities of cancer cells.

In 1956 he moved to the Institute of Cancer Research's Chester Beatty Research Institute in London. He was promoted to Head of the Department of Applied Biochemistry in 1970, Head of the Department of Biochemical Pharmacology in 1977, Chairman of the Drug Development Section in 1982, and Director of the CRC's Centre for Cancer Therapeutics in 1994.

He is credited with the discovery of Carboplatin, JM 216 (Satraplatin), and AMD 473. This achievement was recognized in 1991 with the Queens Award for Technological Achievement, awarded jointly to the Drug Development Section at the Institute of Cancer Research, of which Harrap was Head, to the Royal Marsden Hospital, and to Johnson.

Antimetabolite anticancer drugs

Harrap's interest in antimetabolites as cancer drugs led to a collaboration with AstraZeneca on the development of thymidylate synthase inhibitors. Raltitrexed was developed and launched as Tomudex.

Building on the work done by Harrap's group, thymidylate synthase has continued to be a target of interest for the development of anti cancer drugs. One of these, BGC 945, has been taken into clinical trial at the Royal Marsden, and licensed to Carrick for further clinical development.

Retirement

Harrap became emeritus professor of pharmacology at the University of London, a distinguished emeritus fellow of the Cancer Research Campaign, and an associate and visiting scientist at the Institute of Cancer Research on his retirement in 1997. `

The University of London's Harrap Chair of Pharmacology and Therapeutics is endowed in his honour.