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University of Kansas Cancer Center
University of Kansas Cancer Center  :  Leadership

Valentino Stella, PhD


V Stella

Program Co-Chair, Drug Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics
University Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
stella@ku.edu

Valentino Stella, PhD is a world-renowned expert in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, specifically in the field of improving drug stability and solubility.  As the co-chair of the Drug Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics Research Program, Dr. Stella brings a plethora of knowledge and experience in drug development that allows him to foster collaboration amongst researchers working on developing and discovering new anti-cancer agents.  Dr. Stella holds a coveted “Development of Dosage Forms and Delivery systems for Antitumor Agents” contract with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), one which has led to the development of over 40% of the discoveries from the NCI’s pipeline being made at the University of Kansas.

Dr. Stella’s research centers on the application of physical/organic chemistry by studying the factors affecting drug delivery.  Dr. Stella also studies the use of prodrugs to overcome problems of solubility and stability.  He is the inventor of fosphenytoin, a safe injectable form of sodium phenytoin.  Additionally, Dr. Stella’s work led to the discovery of Captisol that is used to safely dissolve agents for injection.  

Background

Dr. Stella received his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from the Victorian College of Pharmacy in Victoria, Australia.  In 1971, he completed his PhD from the University of Kansas in Analytical Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmaceutics under the advisory of the “father of physical pharmacy”, Professor Takeru Higuchi.  After completing his degree, Dr. Stella served as an assistant professor of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois.  He later joined the faculty in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Kansas in 1973 and has been with the department for almost 35 years.   

From 1989-1999, Dr. Stella served as the Director of the Center for Drug Delivery Research at KU.  In 1991 he was awarded a University Distinguished Professorship in Pharmaceutical Chemistry.  Dr. Stella has obtained over 30 patents and developed as series of modified cyclodextrins that serve as the basis of several pharmaceutical products. 

Under Dr. Stella’s guidance, three companies have spun off from the University to further develop pharmaceutical technology: CyDex, CritiTech, and ProQuest.  CyDex, Inc. was founded in 1993 by Dr. Stella to commercialize substituted cyclodextrin technologies for drug formulation.  The technology behind CyDex involves a chemically modified form of the natural product, b-cyclodextrin, which when modified, dramatically enhances the water solubility of hydrophobic drugs, making them deliverable to the human body.  CritiTech was founded in 1997 and uses a suite of technologies based on the unique physical and chemical properties of supercritical fluids.  ProQuest was founded in 1997 as a result of inventions as they relate to “prodrug” technology.  Work with ProQuest led to the discovery of Aquavan, a new anesthetic.

Membership Organizations

  • American Chemical Society
  • American Association of the Advancement of Science
  • American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists

Recent Publications

  1. B. A. Hanson, R. L. Schowen, V. J. Stella, A Mechanistic and Kinetic Study of the E‑Ring Hydrolysis and Lactonization of a Novel Phosphoryloxymethyl Prodrug of Camptothecin, Pharm. Res. 20, 1031-8 (2003).
  2. S. Silchenko, C. Schoneich, B. J. Carlson, V. J. Stella, “Photostability of 2-hydroxymethyl-4,8-dibenzo[1,2-b:5,4-b']dithiophene-4,8-dione (NSC 656240), a potential anticancer drug.” Int J Pharm., 264, 97-105 (2003).
  3. S. Tongiani, D. Vander Velde, T. Ozeki, and V. J. Stella, “Sulfoalkyl Ether-Alkyl Ether Cyclodextrin Derivatives, their Synthesis, NMR Characterization and Binding of 6a-Methylprednisolone,” J. Pharm. Sci., 94: 2380-2392 (2005)
  4. M. Jumaa, C. Carlson, L. Chimilio, V. J. Stella, “Kinetics and Mechanism of Degradation of Epothilone D: An Experimental Anticancer Agent”, J. Pharm. Sci, 93: 2953-2961 (2004).
  5. K. Okimoto, A. Ohike, R. Ibuki, T. Irie, K. Uekama, R. A. Rajewski, and V. J. Stella, “Applicability of (SBE)7m-b-CD in Contolled-Porosity Osmotic Pump Tablets (OPTs),” Int. J. Pharm., 286, 81-8 (2004)
  6. Tongiani S, Velde DV, Ozeki T, Stella VJ. “Sulfoalkyl ether-alkyl ether cyclodextrin derivatives, their synthesis, NMR characterization, and binding of 6-a-methylprednisolone.” J. Pharm. Sci., 94, 2380-2392 (2005).
  7. S. Sotthivirit, J. W. Lubach, J. L. Haslam, E. J. Munson, V. J. Stella, “Characterization of Prednisolone in Controlled Porosity Osmotoc Pump Pellets Using Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy,” J. Pham. Sci., 96, 1008-17 (2007)
  8. S. Sotthivirit, J. L. Haslam, V. J. Stella, “Controlled Porosity-Osmotic Pump Pellets of a Poorly Water Soluble Drug Using Sulfobutylether-b-Cyclodextrin, (SBE)7M-b-CD, as a Solubilizing and Osmotic Agent,” J. Pham. Sci., 96, 2364-2374 (2007).
  9. N. Denora, B. C. M. Potts, V. J. Stella, “A Mechanistic and Kinetic Study of the b-Lactone Hydrolysis of Salinosporamide A (NPI-0052), a Novel Proteasome Inhibitor,” 96, 2037-47 (2007).
  10. J. Tian, V. J. Stella, “Degradation of Paclitaxel and Related Compounds in Aqueous Solutions I: Epimerization,” J. Pharm. Sci., in press, early view.