Taxol
Taxol is a diterpene derived from the bark of the Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia.
In 1966, Monroe Wall, a chemist in North Carolina, tried to interest the NCI in a new substance called taxol, extracted from the bark of the Pacific Yew.
The anti-tumor activity demonstrated in the laboratory by Wall was confirmed by clinical trials with mice. In 1979, its unique mode of action was published by a team of New York pharmacologists.
After several clinical trials with humans, NCI issued a contract with Bristol Meyers-Squibb to develop taxol.