Philip_Needleman

Philip Needleman

Philip Needleman

American pharmacologist and academic (1939–2024)

Philip Needleman (February 10, 1939 – March 25, 2024) was an American pharmacologist and academic. 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. Needleman was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Biography

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.[1]

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.[2]

In 1989 left academia for industry and became vice president of Monsanto.[3] In 1993 he became president of Searle.[3] 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).[3] He became senior executive vice president and chief scientist of Pharmacia from 2000 to 2003.[3]

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.[1] He served as interim president of two institutions, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and the Saint Louis Science Center.[4][5]

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."[7] He was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2015.[8]

Needleman died on March 25, 2024, at the age of 85.[9]

References

  1. [1]
    "Needleman elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences". Washington University School of Medicine. May 1, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  2. [2]
    Williams, Diane Duke (2015-05-01). "Needleman elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences - The Source - Washington University in St. Louis". The Source. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  3. [3]
    "Philip Needleman". National Academy of Sciences. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  4. [4]
    "Leading plant researcher to lead Danforth Center". Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. November 6, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  5. [5]
    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.
  6. [6]
    NAS member directory
  7. [7]
    NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Science Archived 2015-01-08 at the Wayback Machine National Academy of Sciences web site
  8. [8]
    "Dr. Philip Needleman". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  9. [9]
    "Philip Needleman". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
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