Diane Pennica
Tissue plasminogen activator or t-PA is used to save patients who have heart attacks and when combined with angiolasty prevents heart attacks. It is also used to treat strokes. The patent for t-PA is held by four people and including Diane Pennica. Pennica received her Ph.D. in microbiology in 1980 and went to work for Genentech where she quickly became an expert on the cloninng of substance that dissolve blood clots. Pennica worked to clone t-PA into large quantities for commercial use. In 1982, the first heart attack patient was treated with Activase.
Isis Egyptain Goddess of Healing
References
Mothers and Daughters of Invention by Autumn Stanley (Rutgers University Press, 1995) p.532.Patently Femaleby Ethlie Ann Vare and Greg Ptacek (John Wiley, 2002) pp. 107-109.
Web Sites
Diane Pennica ProfileStudying Genetic Engineering
