The research odyssey of John Kopchick
鈥淚t all started with a little mouse.鈥
That鈥檚 how molecular biologist and standout Heritage College faculty researcher John Kopchick, Ph.D., recalls the scientific discovery that has helped shape his career; improved the lives of people suffering from acromegaly; opened new pathways for research into obesity, diabetes, cancer and aging; and earned 91探花 millions in drug royalties.
That little mouse was the surprise outcome of an experiment more than 25 years ago.
Kopchick, who came to 91探花 in 1987 as holder of the Milton and Lawrence H. Goll Eminent Scholar Endowed Professorship of Molecular and Cellular Biology in our medical college and director of the growth, diabetes and obesity section of the then-new Edison Biotechnology Institute, was working with a graduate student to modify the DNA of a laboratory mouse.
When they altered the gene for growth hormone (GH), they thought they鈥檇 produce an oversized animal. Instead, they got a dwarf mouse 鈥 one that was resistant to cancer and diabetes.
鈥淲e were expecting a really big mouse,鈥 Kopchick recalls. 鈥淲e weren鈥檛 expecting to uncover a growth hormone receptor antagonist. That was a pretty exciting day!鈥
What they had found was a molecule that inhibits the GH receptor gene鈥檚 action, lowering GH production. The implications are many and continue to generate new lines of research. Work Kopchick has done to build on this finding has made him one of our college鈥檚 most prestigious researchers and an internationally known expert in the field of endocrinology.
One outcome of his research was development of a drug, Somavert庐 (pegvisomant) used to treat humans with acromegaly, a chronic disease that causes excessive growth of organs and bones and can result in premature death. As of 2018, its technology license had yielded $97 million in royalty income to 91探花, used to support further research and technology commercialization efforts.
Getting the discovery from lab to pharmacy was a challenge. 鈥淭his molecule we discovered was the first large-molecule growth-hormone antagonist,鈥 Kopchick explains. 鈥淏efore that, there were several antagonists pharmaceutical companies had developed for other disorders, but they were small organic-type molecules; this is a large protein. The scientific, medical and pharmaceutical communities didn鈥檛 accept it in the beginning. So it was hard to convince investors to invest in a new company.鈥
For some time, Kopchick couldn鈥檛 find a company to translate his discoveries into a medication. Finally, while he was discussing the problem during a gym workout with Joe Dean, then an assistant OHIO football coach, Dean suggested Kopchick call an 鈥渙ld friend鈥 鈥 1972 OHIO alum and former footballer Rick Hawkins, an entrepreneur in drug development. Hawkins and Kopchick formed a company to develop and test the compound that became Somavert. 鈥淭hat was just serendipity that we were able to do that,鈥 he says.
That鈥檚 hardly the end of the story, as Kopchick鈥檚 work has been a fertile source of new research around growth hormone, by himself and others. These days, he pursues his investigations as head of a research team that includes Darlene Berryman, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., associate dean for research and innovation; Nick Okada, Ph.D., associate lecturer in pediatrics; and Ed List, Ph.D., senior scientist at the Edison Biotechnology Institute; as well as undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students and technicians. Given everything growth hormone does, they have no shortage of research topics.
鈥淲e know growth hormone can affect the status of cancer, so an inhibitor might be used for cancer indications,鈥 Kopchick says. 鈥淎ging is related to growth hormone. If you have diminished growth hormone action in mice by deleting the GH receptor gene, you get this dwarf mouse that is resistant to cancer and diabetes and just happens to be the longest-lived laboratory mouse in the world. These mice have been shipped all over the world to researchers doing aging research. Additionally, there are people who have a similar mutation, Laron Syndrome patients, who don鈥檛 get cancer or diabetes either. So if you decrease growth hormone, you can increase health, and in mice, longevity. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e into aging research. The reason we鈥檙e also into diabetes research is that too much growth hormone will promote diabetes. Our drug lowers growth hormone. So, could it be used for diabetic patients? More research is needed for that. Although we do different things, they鈥檙e all growth hormone-centric. We do obesity research; well, growth hormone dissolves fat, this is why we study obesity. It鈥檚 all intertwined; we鈥檙e not studying five distinct things (growth, aging, cancer, obesity, and diabetes) that are unrelated. They鈥檙e all related, and the net that covers them all is growth hormone and its various actions.鈥
Kopchick鈥檚 ongoing contributions to medicine and basic science have earned him a long list of honors, both from the university and other institutions.
These include the Endocrine Society鈥檚 2019 Laureate Award for Outstanding Innovation; the British Society for Endocrinology鈥檚 Transatlantic Medal; the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine鈥檚 Riland Medal; the AMVETS Silver Helmet Award; distinguished alumnus awards from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; and honorary doctoral degrees from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Aarhus University in Denmark. In 2013 he was elected president of the Growth Hormone Research Society, becoming the first basic scientist to hold this office. And just recently, on Dec. 13, Indiana University of Pennsylvania named their College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and their new Science and Math Building after John and his wife, Char.
In 2012, he was named a distinguished professor at 91探花, and in the same year, the Heritage College the creation of the John J. Kopchick, Ph.D., Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Endowed Eminent Research Chair in his name.
Kopchick says one of the best things about his job is bringing students, both graduates and undergrads, along on the research journey. 鈥淲e鈥檝e trained over 350 undergrads, and over 95 percent have gone into either medical school or graduate school,鈥 he says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very, very proud of that.鈥 He鈥檚 also worked with more than 30 graduate students. In honor of his love of learning and impact on translational research around the world, our college created the John J. Kopchick Distinguished Lecture earlier this year.
And as the Heritage College presses ahead with its campaign to strengthen its research focus, Kopchick鈥檚 presence on our faculty offers example, inspiration and support for the work of colleagues.