Samuel Ray Denmeade is a Professor of Oncology, Urology and pharmacology and molecular sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
[2] As a clinical oncologist Denmeade has been the lead investigator on clinical trials testing new hormone therapies for prostate cancer[3] and is also a laboratory scientist focused on the development of novel ways to treat prostate cancer.
[citation needed] His main research focus has been on the design and characterization of prodrugs and protoxins targeted for activation by cancer specific proteases.
[citation needed] One of these prodrugs termed G202 consists of an analog of the highly toxic natural product thapsigargin coupled to a peptide recognized as a substrate by the protease Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen.
He is also one of the co-inventors of PRX302, a modified form of the potent bacterial toxin proaerolysin reengineered for activation by the protease prostate-specific antigen (PSA).