The widely used chemotherapy drug paclitaxel, commonly known as Taxol, was first extracted from the Pacific yew tree in 1963. But while plants have figured out how to manufacture the molecule, for ...

Stanford University researchers report the discovery of eight previously unknown genes that, when expressed in tobacco leaves, reconstitute the Taxol precursor baccatin III at levels matching its ...

The demand for the widely used cancer drug Taxol is increasing, but it's difficult and expensive to produce because it hasn't been possible to do it biosynthetically. Until now, that is. Researchers ...

Here’s a rare treat. It’s one thing to read about Taxol, one of the most important breakthroughs in modern cancer treatment. It’s another thing to hear the story from someone directly involved in the ...

Taxol is a widely used chemotherapy drug – it has been used to treat millions of ovarian, breast, and lung cancer patients. Today, it’s mainly produced by extracting its chemical precursor, baccatin ...

“Synthetic” and “natural” are largely useless terms. But not “semisynthetic.” It’s a real word that describes a critical process in drug development and production. Here’s how it solved the supply ...

Discoverers originally isolated Taxol from the bark of the Pacific yew tree (Taxus brevifolia), a slow growing species native to the Pacific Northwest. Early production methods required harvesting and ...

Robert A. Holton, a retired Florida State University professor, died at his home in Tallahassee, Florida, on May 21 at the age of 81. Holton is best known for his work on the anticancer drug Taxol ...