John E. Macor
Medicinal chemist
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John E. Macor is an American medicinal chemist known for his contributions to drug discovery in neuroscience and other therapeutic areas.[1] He is a co-inventor of four drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): the migraine treatments eletriptan (Relpax), rimegepant (Nurtec ODT), and zavegepant (Zavzpret), and sparsentan (Filspari), a treatment for IgA nephropathy.[2][3][4][5][6]
Princeton University (Ph.D.)
ACS MEDI Hall of Fame (2014)
Edward E. Smissman Award (2019)
IUPAC–Richter Prize (2020)
John E. Macor | |
|---|---|
| Education | University of Notre Dame (B.S.) Princeton University (Ph.D.) |
| Known for | Co-inventor of eletriptan, rimegepant, zavegepant and sparsentan |
| Awards | Alfred Burger Award in Medicinal Chemistry (2014) ACS MEDI Hall of Fame (2014) Edward E. Smissman Award (2019) IUPAC–Richter Prize (2020) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Medicinal chemistry, drug discovery |
| Workplaces | Pfizer Bristol-Myers Squibb Babylon Biosciences |
In 2014, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the American Chemical Society’s Division of Medicinal Chemistry.[2]
Macor currently works at Babylon Biosciences, a San Francisco-based startup focused on treatments for Alzheimer's disease.[7]
Education
Macor trained as an organic chemist.[1] Macor received his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame and his Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton University in 1986, where he worked under Edward C. Taylor.[2][8]
Career
Macor began his industrial career at Pfizer in 1986, where he was a co-inventor of eletriptan, a triptan marketed as Relpax for the acute treatment of migraine.[8][2] Eletriptan was approved by the FDA in 2002.[9]
He later joined Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1997, where he served as executive director of neuroscience chemistry.[8][1] At Bristol-Myers Squibb, he was a co-inventor in the program that produced the CGRP receptor antagonists rimegepant and zavegepant,[10][2][3][4] which were subsequently developed by Biohaven Pharmaceuticals and approved by the FDA in 2020 and 2023, respectively, for the treatment of migraine.[11][12]
He is also a co-inventor of sparsentan,[5][6] a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist developed by Travere Therapeutics and approved by the FDA in 2023 for the reduction of proteinuria in adults with IgA nephropathy.[13]
Macor’s work at Bristol-Myers Squibb also included the company’s Alzheimer’s disease program, where he contributed to the discovery of avagacestat (BMS-708163),[14] a γ-secretase inhibitor that advanced to Phase 2 clinical trials[15] before development was discontinued.[citation needed]
Macor is an author on more than 220 peer-reviewed publications and a named inventor on 150 issued U.S. patents.[citation needed]
Current clinical development
Active clinical trials
Programs between clinical stages
| Compound | Clinical development |
|---|---|
| Pilavapadin | Phase 3 development planned following a January 2026 end-of-Phase 2 meeting for diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain.[18] |
| SION-451 | Phase 1 combination results reported in August 2026 for the cystic fibrosis program; next clinical development steps under evaluation.[19] |
Discontinued add-on program
| Compound | Clinical development |
|---|---|
| SION-719 | Phase 2a trial for cystic fibrosis. In August 2026, the sponsor reported that the trial missed its key activity endpoint and that it would not advance SION-719 as an add-on to standard of care.[19] |
Honors
- Robert M. Scarborough Award for Excellence in Medicinal Chemistry, ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry (2009)[2]
- Inducted as an American Chemical Society Fellow (2011)[2]
- Alfred Burger Award in Medicinal Chemistry, American Chemical Society (2014)[2]
- Inducted into the American Chemical Society Division of Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame (2014)[2]
- Edward E. Smissman Award in Medicinal Chemistry, ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry (2019)[2]
- IUPAC–Richter Prize in Medicinal Chemistry (2020)[8]
Selected publications
- Gillman, K. W.; et al. (2010). "Discovery and Evaluation of BMS-708163, a Potent, Selective and Orally Bioavailable γ-Secretase Inhibitor". ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 1 (3): 120–124. doi:10.1021/ml1000239. PMC 4007960. PMID 24900185.
- Luo, G.; et al. (2012). "Discovery of (5S,6S,9R)-5-amino-6-(2,3-difluorophenyl)-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-cyclohepta[b]pyridin-9-yl 4-(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-1-yl)piperidine-1-carboxylate (BMS-927711): an oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antagonist in clinical trials for treating migraine". Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 55 (23): 10644–10651. doi:10.1021/jm3013147. PMID 23153230.