Paul Richardson

After certifying in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, as well as working in Cancer Pharmacology from 1994 onwards at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), Prof Paul Richardson joined the Jerome Lipper Myeloma Center in 1999, was appointed Clinical Director in 2001, and led the development of several first-generation novel drugs including bortezomib, lenalidomide and pomalidomide. Subsequent studies have focused on next generation novel drugs including histone deacetylase inhibitors such as panobinostat and other small molecules including the second-generation proteasome inhibitors NPI 0052 (also known as marizomib) and MLN 9708 (now known as ixazomib) with the goal of further improving patient outcomes. More recently, his clinical innovations have been in the development of the breakthrough monoclonal antibodies elotuzumab and daratumumab for the treatment of both untreated and relapsed myeloma.

Previously, his senior investigator role in the VISTA trial comparing bortezomib in combination with melphalan and prednisone versus melphalan and prednisone alone as part of an international Phase 3 trial established bortezomib, melphalan and prednisone (VMP) as a new treatment standard in multiple myeloma patients not eligible for stem cell transplant. At present, his major effort has been focused on the Intergroup Francophone Myelome (IFM)/DFCI clinical trial in newly diagnosed patients eligible for stem cell transplant treated with lenalidomide, bortezomib and dexamethasone (RVD). This regimen has generated an unprecedented response rate, leading to its adoption in this international study (as well as in the United States and elsewhere), which incorporates genomic and proteomic evaluation to establish a future platform for tailored therapy.

Other important contributions include the management of treatment-emergent neuropathy in myeloma. Similarly, the development of defibrotide for the treatment and prevention of hepatic veno-occlusive disease following stem cell transplantation has been aimed at improving therapeutic outcome, with defibrotide emerging as the first agent approved for this unmet medical need.

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Prof Richardson has published extensively, having authored or co-authored more than 360 original articles and 280 reviews, chapters, and editorials in peer-reviewed journals. In addition to holding positions on the Editorial Boards of leading journals, he is prior Chairman of the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC), Clinical Trials Core, a position held for 5 years as part of a rotating tenure, and for which he continues as a member of the Steering and Project Review Committee. He was also a member of ASCO Hematologic Malignancies Subcommittee for the required one-year term, and then for one year on the ASCO Internet Cancer Information Committee during 2017. He was appointed Chair of the Alliance Myeloma Committee in 2011 and continues in this role.

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Honors include the George Canellos Award for Excellence in Clinical Research and Patient Care, The Tisch Outstanding Achievement Award for Clinical Research and an honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (UK), given in recognition for international contributions in multiple myeloma and stem cell transplantation. He was a co-recipient of the prestigious Warren Alpert Foundation Prize in recognition of the successful therapeutic targeting of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. He was a co-recipient of the Accelerator Award for contributions to clinical research and patient enrollment in MMRC studies, as well as for the Research Center of the Year Award in 2009, followed by a second award for Center of the Year in 2017. He was ranked by Thomson Reuters Science Watch amongst the top 19 investigators at DFCI for the most highly cited research in 2016. Most recently, he was the co-recipient of the ASH Ernest Beutler Prize for clinical science and translational research in the development of proteasome inhibition as an effective treatment strategy for multiple myeloma in 2015; the COMY Award for MM research (Paris, France) in 2016, and the IMF Robert A. Kyle Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.