What drug was discovered here?

Random medical trivia of the day: What drug was discovered at site A on the map, that got FDA approval as an immune system inhibitor for organ transplant recipients in 1999?

When you think of Easter Island, you probably think of a picture like this:

These amazing stone heads have put a spotlight on this tiny island. The example of the perils of overpopulation and poor resource management that lie in the island’s history also make a topic of study for many students. I remembering studying it myself in my High School environmental science class.

What I never knew until today, however, is that researches on this island discovered a fungus that was developed into a drug called sirolimus or rapamycin. I've learned about this drug many times over the course of medical school. It's pretty important for people with organ transplants to prevent their immune system from destroying the new organ. It also might be useful in some cancers, and it might help the elderly who have problems with chronic inflammation due to a smoldering immune system.

I guess I just think it's pretty neat that such an important drug was discovered on one of the tiniest of islands out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

It makes you wonder about all the other drugs out there waiting to be discovered!

Other posts in the “fun medical facts” series (to see all past and future posts, click here):

The poop prescription
The joys of orange bodily fluids
There's a stone baby in my belly (lithopedion)
Ten percent of our brain myth

Why Grandpa Can’t Understand his Granddaughters

I am a medical student at BCM and all thoughts are my own. I am not a doctor at the time of writing this. Please read the disclaimer.

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