March 1, 2019 will be the 30th anniversary of the day that FK506 (tacrolimus) was administered via intravenous injection to the first person, a liver transplant patient who made history as the first human to ever receive this drug (FK900506).
Tacrolimus, a drug used after organ transplantation to help prevent rejection, is the primary immunosuppressive drug currently used in solid organ transplant patients today.
Thomas E. Starzl, MD, PhD had the vision to procure this drug from Japan, pioneered its development, and paved the way for its investigation in multicenter trials. Tacrolimus received FDA approval in April 1994 (about five years after the first patient received the drug).
This was all accomplished within two years after the start of the preclinical safety and efficacy studies, and research in vitro and in several animal models.