Prof Hilary Calvert

Hilary Calvert

Northern Institute for Cancer Research
Newcastle University
Newcastle Upon Tyne

Taking new cancer treatments from bench to bedside

Hilary Calvert is Professor of Medical Oncology at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research in Newcastle upon Tyne. He is one of the UK's leading cancer researchers working in drug development. Professor Calvert's team carry out clinical trials to test new anti-cancer drugs and to improve the use of existing treatments.

Professor Calvert has had a long and distinguished career in cancer research. He played a vital role in the discovery and development of the drug carboplatin in the 1980s. It is used to treat people with ovarian and other cancers. And he gave his name to the "Calvert formula", which is still used by doctors today to calculate the correct dose of carboplatin for an individual patient.

Newcastle Anticancer Drug Discovery Initiative

Professor Calvert also set up the Newcastle Anticancer Drug Discovery Initiative. This led to the development of the first PARP inhibitors, part of a new generation of cancer drugs that are currently being tested in clinical trials. PARP inhibitors are highly targeted to people whose cancers are due to faults in genes such as the BRCA genes, which increase the risk of some breast and prostate cancers.

Work carried out by Professor Calvert and his team led to the development of the cancer drug Tomudex (raritrexed) and paved the way for Alimta (pemetrexed). These drugs are being used to treat many thousands of patients around the world.

Today, Professor Calvert and his team are continuing their world-class research, developing and testing new anti-cancer drugs. They hope to create important cancer treatments of the future, which could save many lives.

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