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Philip Needleman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Philip Needleman (February 10, 1939 – March 25, 2024) was an American medical researcher,[1] pharmaceutical industry executive and leader[2][3][4] and philanthropist.[5]

Needleman was a professor and associate dean at the Washington University School of Medicine, and he served as an executive at Monsanto/Searle. He is credited with discovering the first thromboxane synthase inhibitor, the inflammatory substance known as COX-2 and the cardiac hormone known as atriopeptin, and for developing the anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex.[6]

Education[edit]

Needleman attended the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, where he earned an undergraduate degree and a master's degree, both in pharmacology. He subsequently studied at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and received a doctoral degree in pharmacology.[7]

Academic career[edit]

Needleman was a postdoctoral fellow at the Washington University School of Medicine, remaining there as a faculty member. He became a full professor and he chaired the pharmacology department from 1976 to 1989.[7]

Industry career[edit]

In 1989 left academia for industry and became Vice President and Chief Scientist of Monsanto.[6] In 1993 he became president of Searle.[6] There he oversaw research into COX-2 that led to the development of the anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib (Celebrex), which was approved in 1998 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).[6] He became senior executive vice president and chief scientist of Pharmacia from 2000 to 2003.[6]

Needleman returned to academia as an associate dean at the Washington University School of Medicine in 2004 and was subsequently named to the school's board of trustees.[7] He served as interim president of two institutions, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and the Saint Louis Science Center.[8][9]

Awards and honors[edit]

Needleman was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1987 in the physiology and pharmacology section.[6] He received the NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Science in 2005 for his work on "metabolism of arachidonic acid in physiology and pathophysiology, which generates prostacyclin and thromboxane."[10] He was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2015.[11]

Needleman received numerous honors and awards[3], including the: John Jacob Abel Award of the American Pharmacology Society (1974); Research Achievement Award from the American Heart Association (1988); NAS Institute of Medicine (1993); C. Chester Stock Award Lectureship at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2001); and the Industrial Research Institute Medal (2001). In 2002, he was appointed Special Advisor to the ·President for Research and Development at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and had joined the University's Advisory committee for the creation of a National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev.

Death[edit]

Needleman died on March 25, 2024, at the age of 85.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "National Academy of Sciences, Member Directory, Philip Needleman". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  2. ^ Burton, Thomas (7 September 1999). "Merck and Searle Try to put pain pills to use against cancer".
  3. ^ a b c Wheeler, Brittney (2 April 2024). "Obituary: Philip Needleman, emeritus trustee, longtime benefactor, 85". Washington University in St. Louis, The Record.
  4. ^ Length, Robert (15 October 1996). "Searle's Arthritis Drug Relieves Pain, Apparently Without Causing Ulcers". The Wall Street Journal.
  5. ^ "Washington University Receives $15 Million for Aging Research". Philanthropy News Digest. 16 February 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Philip Needleman". National Academy of Sciences. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  7. ^ a b c Williams, Diane Duke (1 May 2015). "Needleman elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences - The Source - Washington University in St. Louis". The Source. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  8. ^ "Leading plant researcher to lead Danforth Center". Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. November 6, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  9. ^ Seltzer, Jo (June 7, 2011). "Scientist thrives on challenge and change". St. Louis Beacon. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  10. ^ NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Science Archived 2015-01-08 at the Wayback Machine National Academy of Sciences web site
  11. ^ "Dr. Philip Needleman". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 3, 2015.

External links[edit]


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