Stewart Adams (chemist)
Stewart Adams OBE | |
---|---|
Born | Stewart Sanders Adams 16 April 1923 |
Died | 30 January 2019 Nottingham, England | (aged 95)
Nationality | English |
Citizenship | British |
Alma mater | University of Nottingham |
Known for | Development of Ibuprofen |
Spouse |
Mary (m. 1950) |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | Boots Pure Drug Company |
Stewart Sanders Adams
Early life
Adams was born in Byfield, Northamptonshire, at 4 New Terrace (later re-numbered as no. 7) on 16 April 1923.[2][3] His father was a railwayman, and grew up in a rural farming area in Northamptonshire.[4] Adams was an only child.
Adams went to Byfield Council School, then his parents moved in 1933 to
Career
He rejoined the Boots company in 1945 and worked on their project to produce
Ibuprofen
At the Boots Pure Drug Company in 1953, Adams began work on other chemical substances that could have a pain-killing effect, centred on rheumatoid arthritis. He worked in a house in the south of Nottingham for many years, as the main labs had been destroyed in the war, then moved to Boots Pharmaceuticals new building on Pennyfoot Street in 1960 where there was a radioactive lab. This is now BioCity Nottingham.
In August 1958 on Rutland Road in West Bridgford,[11] the team, with Manchester Grammar School-educated organic chemist John Nicholson (1925–83),[12][13] looked at on phenoxy acids. In 1961 the team started looking at phenyl-propanoic acids, and things were looking good. One of the types was 2-(4-isobutylphenyl) propanoic acid; ibuprofen was first made in December 1961.
Four substances that went to
Licensing
A patent was filed in 1962, and granted in 1962, for phenylalkane derivatives. In 1969 ibuprofen was licensed as a prescription drug in the UK, and in 1974 in the US. It was launched in the US in 1974 by Upjohn of Kalamazoo, Michigan, as Motrin. In April 1966, Ibufenac (iso-butyl-phenyl-acetic-acid, known as Dytransin) went onto the UK market, but was withdrawn in January 1968 due to causing jaundice, from its toxicity in the liver.[14]
General pharmacies
In August 1978, Boots applied to have ibuprofen put in general pharmacies, but the
Adams retired as Head of Pharmacological Sciences at Boots in 1983.
Recognition
Inventors Hall of Fame
In 2022, Adams was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.[18]
Blue plaques
In November 2013 work on ibuprofen was recognised by the erection of a Royal Society of Chemistry blue plaque at Boots' Beeston Factory site in Nottingham, which reads:[19]
In recognition of the work during the 1980s by The Boots Company PLC on the development of ibuprofen which resulted in its move from prescription only status to over the counter sale, therefore expanding its use to millions of people worldwide
and another at BioCity Nottingham, the site of the original laboratory, which reads:[19]
In recognition of the pioneering research work, here on Pennyfood Street, by Dr Stewart Adams and Dr John Nicholson in the Research Department of Boots which led to the discovery of ibuprofen used by millions worldwide for the relief of pain.
Dr Stewart Adams Bridge
A new pedestrian and cycle bridge connecting the Nottingham Science Park to the Boots head office campus, over the Midland Mainline railway, was named after Adams.[20]
Personal life
He married Mary, a teacher, in 1950, just before he moved to
Adams died aged 95 at the Queen's Medical Centre on 30 January 2019.[24][25]
See also
- Sir John Vane FRS, the first to discover how aspirin worked
- Nottingham University School of Pharmacy
- List of largest selling pharmaceutical products
References
- ^ "Midlands research powerhouse will use powerful new imaging technology to develop the next generation of drugs" (Press release). University of Birmingham. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ Davison, Phil. "Stewart Adams, British pharmacist who helped create ibuprofen, dies at 95". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- PMID 22338705.
- ^ a b Lambert, Victoria (8 October 2007). "Dr Stewart Adams: 'I tested ibuprofen on my hangover'". The Telegraph.
- ^ "My School Days: Dr Stewart Adams". Nottingham Post.
- ^ "March marks centenary of the birth of ibuprofen creator". BBC News. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "The hangover that led to the discovery of ibuprofen". BBC News. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ a b "Leeds alum invented ibuprofen". Leeds Alumni Online. University of Leeds. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-2033-6258-7.
- ^ "Stewart Adams | The National Inventors Hall of Fame". www.invent.org. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ Ibuprofen: A Critical Bibliographic Review
- Brasenose College. Archivedfrom the original on 13 January 2019.
- ^ Ibuprofen: Discovery, Development and Therapeutics
- ISBN 978-0-2033-6258-7.
- ISBN 978-0-2033-6258-7.
- ISBN 978-0-2033-6258-7.
- ISBN 978-0-2033-6258-7.
- ^ "Stewart Adams: Ibuprofen". invent.org. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Chemical landmark plaque honours scientific discovery past and future". Royal Society of Chemistry. 21 November 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018.
- ^ "Bridge named after Boots chemist who helped discover Ibuprofen". Transport Nottingham. Nottingham City Council. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ "Stewart Adams, the man who discovered ibuprofen". Nottingham Post. 20 December 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014.
- ^ a b "Nottingham City Council – City Council Extraordinary Meeting" (PDF). Nottingham City Council. 8 July 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2018.
- ^ "Supplement to The London Gazette of Tuesday, 30th December 1986". The London Gazette. No. 50764. 31 December 1986. p. 9.[dead link] Alt URL
- ^ Bunn, Matthew (31 January 2019). "Dr Stewart Adams, who invented ibuprofen in Nottingham, dies at the age of 95". Nottingham Post. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
External links
- The inventors of ibuprofen at Boots
- Chemistry in your cupboard - Royal Society of Chemistry
- Local history > The story of Ibuprofen BBC
- The ibuprofen inventor The Pharmaceutical Journal