ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University honored a team of scientists Tuesday for research that resulted in the development of a drug to treat acromegaly, a rare disease that can cause enlargement of the organs and put those afflicted at high risk for congestive heart failure, diabetes, osteoporosis and blindness. The drug is pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The group of scientists on the project was acknowledged for its work during the annual Inventors' Appreciation Dinner, which recognizes university researchers who are moving innovations from the laboratory to the marketplace. The event also honored a microbiologist who received a U.S. patent for his work this year and 26 other scientists and engineers who have disclosed inventions or filed patent applications in the past year.

Donald Swainson, president of Sensus Drug Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Pharmacia Corporation, applauded the work by Ohio University scientist John Kopchick and his team of researchers from the university's Edison Biotechnology Institute and the College of Osteopathic Medicine. The drug based on their research, Somavert, will be approved for use in Europe this year.

"This is a real product that will soon be in the hands of many patients," said Swainson, who is the global senior marketing director for Somavert.

During the late 1980s, Kopchick discovered protein antagonists that inhibit the activity of growth hormone in the body. Scientists with the Texas-based Sensus Drug Development Corporation, which was purchased last year by Pharmacia Upjohn, used the antagonists to develop a new class of drugs.

The first drug, Somavert, is designed to treat acromegaly, which affects about 40,000 people worldwide. The illness is characterized by abnormal growth of the hands, feet and bone and cartilage in the face and other parts of the body; and enlargement of the liver, spleen, kidneys and heart. The class of drugs also could be an effective weapon against other more common diseases, such as diabetic eye and kidney disease and some forms of cancer.

Kopchick, Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar and professor of molecular and cellular biology, leads a team of Ohio University scientists that includes Darlene Berryman, Karen Coschigano, Greg Keidan, Bruce Kelder, Chad Keller, Douglas Kohn, Ed List, Gayle Matheny, Shigeru Okada, Linghau Qiu and Markus Riders.

"We wanted to show the effort it takes to bring a neat idea discovered at the bench to a product that will be useful to mankind," said Gary Meyer, assistant vice president for economic and technology development at Ohio University, about the special teamwork award given to the group.

In addition to spotlighting the teamwork involved in the growth hormone antagonist project, the Inventors' Appreciation Dinner recognized a number of faculty, staff and student inventors who in the past year have submitted patent applications or disclosed new inventions to the university's Technology Transfer Office the first step in the intellectual property process. Ohio University ranks second in Ohio in invention disclosures and new patent applications per total research dollars spent, according to a survey by the Association of University Technology Managers.

Peter Coschigano, an associate professor of environmental microbiology, also was recognized for receiving a U.S. patent on a gene sequence of a bacterium that could aid in remediation of the pollutant toluene at hazardous waste sites.

The university has received a total of 62 U.S. patents and $2.5 million in licensing income to date. The Inventors' Appreciation Dinner was sponsored by the Technology Transfer Office, which is part of the Vice President for Research division, and the Office of Ohio University President Robert Glidden.