Kurt Van Horn Email & Phone Number

Durham, North Carolina, United States

Durham, North Carolina, United States

SpringWorks Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that identifies and advances promising science and pioneers efficient pathways for drug development for patients with severe rare diseases and cancer.

Managing a team of chemists focused on route-scouting and process optimization leading to cGMP drug substance (API) manufacture, non-GMP manufacture and custom synthesis. Acting as project manager for several projects to ensure timelines are met and leading client communications. Supported technical transfers to other Cambrex sites to facilitate downstream manufacturing.

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

Process development specialist with cGMP manufacturing experience in development programs involving complex molecules to ensure API processes are robust and cost-effective. Wrote batch records to support GMP manufacturing and presented weekly updates to clients regarding the status of synthetic projects.

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

Performed late phase development activities to support Quality by Design (QbD) including Design of Experiments (DoE) and Fate and Purge which provided a robust technical package leading to the FDA approval of an NDA.

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

Responsible for process optimization activities for the development of non-GMP and GMP manufacturing. Provided input on written proposals for communication to clients. Supplied and presented bi-weekly updates on long term projects. Trained in adherence of FDA, EU and ICH Guidelines during synthesis.

San Francisco Bay Area

Utilizing Structure-Based Drug Design (SBDD) I optimized small molecule Caspase-6 inhibitors discovered as tethering hits from micromolar affinity to single digit nanomolar inhibitors for study as potential Alzheimer's therapies. There are numerous caspase inhibitors known and available, however the ability to selectively inhibit a single caspase was beyond the state of the art. I worked with an excellent team of biologists and biochemists, and we used our chemical biology tools to selectively inhibit caspase-6 and study the role it plays in tau cleavage and aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's.

Greater Boston Area

Facilitated the move of laboratory equipment and reagents from USF in Tampa, FL to NEU in Boston, MA. Met with construction project teams to ensure that the future needs of the lab were being met and that the layout of the lab would meet the expectations of the primary investigator (PI). Contacted vendors regarding installation of laboratory equipment (ie Agilent regarding analytical and preparative HPLC and SFC, Middlesex regarding installation of nitrogen manifolds, EMD regarding the installation of a MilliQ system) and also for the purchase of standard laboratory supplies.Played a vital role in the forward progress and development in the new lab.

Chemistry Department

Multi-step synthesis of a rationally designed library of more than one hundred thirty asymmetric dihydropyridine analogues tested for antimalarial activities leading to in vivo efficacy studiesScale up synthesis of gram quantities of diastereomerically and enantiomerically pure dihydropyridinesUsed LC/MS-MS to study drug concentration in mouse plasma following oral dosing in order to determine pharmacokinetics (PK) parameters such as maximal concentration, half-life in the body, and total drug exposure utilizing area under the curve (AUC)

Adjunct Instructor for Organic Chemistry 1 and 2

Design and synthesis of a library of 1,4-dihydropyridines with in vitro testing against Plasmodium falciparumUse of chiral auxiliaries for the stereoselective synthesis and separation of four dihydropyridine stereoisomers to determine the role stereochemistry plays on antimalarial activityIdentification of absolute stereochemistry through the use of X-ray crystallography and chiral HPLCDesign and synthesis of a library of quinazolines tested against varying species of Leishmania in in vitro assays to acquire SAR and Structure Property Relationship (SPR) data and in vivo assays to determine biological efficacy Synthesis and analysis of quinazolines in testing against the ESKAPE pathogens leading to SAR and SPR studies with focus on in vitro and in vivo tests against the Gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and multi-drug resistant strains of the Gram-negative Acinetobacter baumanniiImplemented an in house HPLC-based method for the determination of log D at multiple pH values following calibration with known drugs such as the beta-blocker Nadolol, the steroid hormone 17-Hydroxyprogesterone and the antibiotic Metronidazole Studied in vivo PK profile of lead compounds to identify potential problems in biological systemsUsed formulation chemistry to increase aqueous solubility of compounds prior to in vivo studies

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Chemistry

Ph.D. advisor: Roman Manetsch Dissertation titled: “Anti-parasitic and anti-bacterial agents: Studies on 1,4-dihydropyridines.

Center Of Excellence In Regulatory Science And Innovation

Courses: • Introduction to U.S. Drug Regulation • Regulatory Considerations for Preclinical and Phase 1 Drug Development • Regulatory.

Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Chemistry

Non-Degree Seeking, 4.0