In 1964, the anticancer drug Azidothymidine (AZT) was synthesized in Michigan Cancer Foundation’s chemistry lab by Jerome Horwitz, Ph.D. It eventually became the first drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for AIDS treatment.

Horwitz and his colleagues originally developed zidovudine to treat cancers caused by retroviruses.  Today, the mission of the Foundation, now known as the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, “is to lead in transformative cancer care, research and education through courage, commitment and compassion.”