The man who many consider the father of synthetic insulin treatment for diabetes, as well as a founder of modern biotechnology- Dr. Arthur Riggs - died this week at the age of 82.
Dr. Arthur Riggs/Photo courtesy of City of Hope
The man who many consider the father of synthetic insulin treatment for diabetes, as well as a founder of modern biotechnology - Dr. Arthur Riggs -, died this week at the age of 82. On March 23, 2022, the humble chemist left behind a substantial contribution to science that won’t soon be forgotten.
At age ten, Dr. Riggs’ mother helped him lay the foundation of his career with the gift of a child’s chemistry set. His studies and life’s work kept him grounded in his home state of California, as he made his way through the University of California, California Institute of Technology, and eventually to the City of Hope. The City of Hope, located in Duarte, CA, would later become a renowned independent research facility and an oncology hospital, with Riggs becoming the founder and dean of its Beckman Research Institute graduate school.
“I came to City of Hope because the environment here offers exactly that - hope for people with diabetes, cancer and many other serious diseases,” Riggs said in a 2021 City of Hope announcement.
Riggs’ legacy looms large in diabetes treatment. The plastic conical tubes included in his elementary chemistry set would become Erlenmeyer flasks as his fascination developed for genetic modification. Riggs and colleagues aimed to first develop a stable, synthetic version of the mammalian hormone, somatostatin. Somatostatin, biologically produced in the human nervous and digestive system, has a relatively non-complex genetic structure of 14 amino acids.
By reverse-engineering the genetic material in the hormone, a synthetic version was made. To ensure stability suitable enough for human use, a large protein-small gene combination was formulated. Thus, the foundation for synthesized human insulin and recombinant DNA technology as a whole.
In 1978, when this recombination technology was applied to develop synthetic human insulin, a diabetes diagnosis had been given to 5.19 million people in the U.S., according to historical statistics published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This statistic, along with the lack of adequate treatment options currently present for diabetes patients, is what drove Riggs and his colleagues to fill in the medical gap.
Riggs discussed how far his ambitions stretched. “I believe in the promise of our work at City of Hope so strongly that one day, probably sooner than most think, we’ll create a world without diabetes,” Riggs said.
The first step to achieving this goal was made when Riggs was able to partner with Eli Lilly and Genentech to deliver brand-named Humulin to the masses.
Roughly a year prior to his passing, the City of Hope renamed its diabetes research institute to honor the man who made it possible. It is now called the Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute. Debbie Thurmond, Ph.D., director of The Wanek Family Project for Type 1 Diabetes within the renamed institute, spoke of the future: “It’s entirely fitting that it should carry his name as we carry on the work he began - for the benefit of people with diabetes.”
