Biography

Professor Dennis C. Liotta is a renowned organic and medicinal chemist, and the author of approximately 200 publications and patents. Dr. Liotta’s research at Emory University has focused on the discovery and development of novel antiviral and anticancer agents, and he has discovered several drugs to treat HIV and Hepatitis B that have broad clinical utility.

Dr. Dennis Liotta received a BA from Queens College, 1970 and a PhD from The City University of New York in 1974. He was a postdoctoral research fellow at Ohio State University from 1974-1976. He has had tremendous success in the development of clinically useful antiviral drugs. These include emtricitabine (Emtriva, Gilead), registered as a component of combination therapy for HIV and as one component of a fixed-dose two drug combination pill, Truvada and the new 3-in-1 pill Atripla (co-marketed by Gilead and BMS). His discoveries also include lamivudine (Epivir, GlaxoSmithKline), which was approved for treatment of both HIV and Hepatitis B virus infection, and D-D4FC/DPC 817 (Reverset, Pharmasset). Gilead Sciences and Royalty Pharma paid Emory University $540M in July, 2005 in exchange for extinguishing Gilead’s future royalty obligations to Emory on its sales of Emtriva/Truvada.

For further information about Prof. Dennis C. Liotta, visit the links below:

www.chemistry.emory.edu/faculty/liotta
eidd.chemistry.emory.edu