Patrick P. A. Humphrey Obe
Advisory member
Pharmacology
HEPTARES
Switzerland
Biography
Patrick graduated from the School of Pharmacy, University of London, in 1968, with a strong interest in drug receptor theory. After obtaining a PhD in pharmacology at St Mary's Hospital Medical School, he joined Allen and Hanburys, at Ware, U.K., to initiate a project on migraine. His work on cerebrovascular pharmacology led directly to the development of sumatriptan, the prototype of a new drug class for the treatment of migraine. During this time, he became the Director of the Glaxo Division of Pharmacology that was not only instrumental in the discovery of sumatriptan, but also naratriptan, alosetron, ondansetron, vapiprost and salmeterol. Patrick has received a number of important academic honours, including an honorary professorship from the University of Cambridge, as well as the Royal Society's Mullard medal. In 1999, he was awarded the OBE for "services to migraine research". He maintains a passion for research aimed at drug discovery and was latterly the Head of Research at Theravance in South San Francisco from 2001 to January 2008. He has about 300 published scientific papers and book chapters to his name and was ranked 4th in the list of total literature citations in Pharmacology and Toxicology from 1994-2004.
Research Interest
Pharmacology
