Calanolide A is an experimental non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). This compound was extracted from the tree Calophyllum lanigerum, of variety austrocoriaceum, in Lundu, Malaysian state of Sarawak in 1992 by United States National Cancer Institute (NCI). Due to rarity of the raw materials and low yield of the active ingredient, total synthesis of the compound was devised in 1996. For the same reason, its sister compound (-)-Calanolide B (also known as Costatolide) have been touted as replacement. As a result of the discovery of Calanolide A, Sarawak Medichem pharmaceuticals company was established as a joint venture between US-based MediChem Research Inc and Craun Research Sdn Bhd, a company owned by the Sarawak state government. In 2006, Craun Research acquired Sarawak MediChem. In 2016, Craun Research announced the completion of Phase I clinical trials for Calanolide A. History In December 1986, Arnold Arboretum of the Harvard University in Massachusetts, requested permission from government of Sarawak to collaborate with Sarawak forest department to collect plants from Sarawak for phytochemical analysis. Permission was granted in May 1987. The plants collection project was part of the many expeditions launched by United States National Cancer Institute (NCI), to find new natural substances to treat cancer and AIDS infection. In September 1987, a botanist named John Burley went on a mission to collect plant samples from a swamp forest at Lundu, Sarawak, Malaysia. He and his team routinely collected a kilogram of fruits, leaves, and twigs from each type of plant they encountered. Part of the samples were sent to NCI for analysis and the other part was sent to Harvard University Herbaria for safekeeping for future research. A sample which was labelled "Burley-and-Lee-351" although showing no effect when tested against cancer cells in cultures, was able to stop viral replication when tested against HIV-1 virus. The sample was later determined to have come from a tree identified as Calophyllum lanigerum (locally known as Bintangor tree) of variety austrocoriaceum. Sarawak Forest Department was informed of the result in late 1991. On return trip to Sarawak in March 1992, it was found that the tree had been cut down by local people most likely for fuel and building material. There was no other trees of the same variety existed in the Lundu region. The collectors then returned home with samples from other varieties of the Calophyllum lanigerum species, most of which failed to show any anti-HIV