 On December 22, 2016, PBL Assay Science lost one of our company's founders, Dr. Sidney Pestka.
In 1990, Dr. Pestka founded PBL Assay Science with his wife, Joan, to develop cytokine assays and reagents and to expand interferon’s clinical utility in cancer and viral diseases. Today the company has expanded to 35 employees and supplies high-quality products and services to researchers around the world.
Dr. Pestka was much more than just one of the founders of PBL. He was known as the "Father of Interferon" for his seminal work on interferon, work that gave birth to a multi-billion dollar market directed at the therapy of hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and other diseases that affect mankind. The interferon field owes much to Sidney Pestka - it would not be what it is today without his contributions. For example, Sid was the first to purify interferon alpha and beta; the first to clone mature interferons; and the first to develop a commercialized recombinant biotherapeutic—Roferon A. In the process, he developed reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) for protein purification.
Sid graduated summa cum laude in chemistry (1957) from Princeton University and received his doctorate in medicine (1961) from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He went on to work at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the laboratory of Dr. Marshall W. Nirenberg. Sid’s early work on the genetic code, protein synthesis and ribosome function led to Nirenberg’s 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
In 1966, Sid moved to the NIH’s National Cancer Institute to concentrate his research on protein synthesis. Three years later, he left the NIH for the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, where he focused on defining how antibiotics work and proteins are synthesized and, later, interferons.
Sid was also Emeritus Professor of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, which he joined in 1986 and where he served as Chairman for 25 years. Sid’s research focused on interferons and cytokines; receptors and signal transduction; immunotherapy of cancer; and prevention, treatment and control of cancers and viral diseases.
Sid is named inventor on 270 U.S. and foreign patents and has 665 publications and abstracts in his name. Many of the inventions described in these patents have broad applications in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. He has edited five books related to protein biosynthesis and interferons—several of which are classics and still frequently cited today. He holds an honorary doctorate in science from Rider University (1987) and has played an important role at the International Cytokine and Interferon Society (ICIS), where he served as secretary, vice president, and president.
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Sid was a rigorous and demanding scientist, a generous colleague and collaborator, and a successful and caring mentor. He trained many scientists over his 42 years leading research efforts at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology and at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Some of these individuals became world-famous scientists in their own right; some went off to run their own companies in countries spanning the globe; some became effective teachers and mentors themselves. But all of those whom Sid trained benefitted from his insistence on building knowledge upon firm logical evidence.
While Sid could certainly come across as intimidating—particularly if he was questioning scientific methods—he was generous in sharing credit for scientific advances, even holding up his own publications to permit others to publish on the same topic at the same time. His primary focus was not on beating out perceived competitors, but in sharing credit and in ensuring fellow researchers were shown the most complete picture of developments in the field.
While his work developing interferons garnered many awards and helped hundreds of thousands of patients across the globe, he never hesitated to stop work on a dime to help a family member, relative or friend—or really anyone who happened to network to him—if they were having difficulty with a serious medical problem. While Sid himself would rarely speak of the assistance he provided to these individuals, it was not uncommon for his family members to be approached by strangers who told stories of how he helped them or their loved ones.
Sid was a warm, caring, good-humored man. He had a face that was often mistaken for Woody Allen’s, a contagious smile, a true love of laughter, and a great appreciation of the art of telling a good, clean joke. He also had a poetic side and a thoughtful and elegant way with the written word, almost exclusively using an old-fashioned fountain pen filled with his signature turquoise ink. The quintessential scientist since adolescence, he had been afflicted with dementia for the last few years of his life. During these last few years, his mantra “keep it going” directed everyone with whom he interacted to make the most of every day and do the best in everything you do. We will miss him.
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"Everyone can work eight hours a day and sleep eight hours a day. It's what you do with the other eight hours that can change the course of your life." - Sidney Pestka, M.D. |
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