Sir David Jack (22 February 1924 – 8 November 2011) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

pharmacologist Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

and

medicinal chemist Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with designing and developing pharmaceutical drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, synthesis and developmen ...

who specialised in the development of drugs for treating

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

. He was head of research and development at

Glaxo GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham, wh ...

from 1978 until 1987.

Early life and education

Jack was born the sixth and youngest child of a coal miner, in

Markinch Markinch (, Scottish Gaelic: Marc Innis) is both a village and a parish in the heart of Fife, Scotland. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the village has a population of 2,420. The civil parish had a population of 16,530 (in 2011).Census ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He attended

Buckhaven High School Buckhaven High School was a six-year co-educational non-denominational comprehensive school in Buckhaven, Fife, Scotland. In the past, Buckhaven was Levenmouth's high school for pupils who passed their qualifying exam. The school's motto was ' ...

before turning down a place at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

to become an apprentice

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

. In 1944, having completed his apprenticeship, he began a BSc course in chemistry and pharmacy at the

Royal Technical College The Royal College of Science and Technology was a higher education college that existed in Glasgow, Scotland between 1887 and 1964. Tracing its history back to the Andersonian Institute (founded in 1796), it is the direct predecessor instituti ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. He won a number of undergraduate prizes and graduated with first class honours.

Career

He turned down an offer to study for a doctorate and instead worked as an assistant lecturer at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. In 1951 he joined the pharmaceutical company

Glaxo Laboratories GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham, wh ...

, moving to Smith Kline and French in 1953. In 1961 he became director of research at

Allen and Hanburys Allen and Hanburys Ltd was a British pharmaceutical manufacturer, absorbed by Glaxo Laboratories in 1958. GlaxoSmithKline, its successor company, used the Allen and Hanburys name for the specialist respiratory division until beginning to phase ...

, a subsidiary of Glaxo, and served as Glaxo's research and development director from 1978 until his official retirement in 1987. Jack was known for heading a research team which developed the following drugs: *

Beclometasone Beclometasone or beclomethasone, also known as beclomethasone dipropionate, and sold under the brand name Qvar among others, is a steroid medication. It is available as an inhaler, cream, pills, and nasal spray. The inhaled form is used in th ...

in 1962 *

Salbutamol Salbutamol, also known as albuterol and sold under the brand name Ventolin among others, is a medication that opens up the medium and large airways in the lungs. It is a short-acting β2 adrenergic receptor agonist that causes relaxation of ...

or Albuterol in 1966, *

Ranitidine Ranitidine, previously sold under the brand name Zantac among others, is a medication used to decrease stomach acid production. It was commonly used in treatment of peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and Zollinger–Ellis ...

in 1977, *

Sumatriptan Sumatriptan, sold under the brand name Imitrex among others, is a medication used to treat migraine headaches and cluster headaches. It is taken Oral administration, orally, Nasal administration, intranasally, or by Subcutaneous injection, su ...

in 1984, *

Salmeterol Salmeterol is a Long-acting beta-adrenoceptor agonist, long-acting β2 adrenergic receptor agonist (LABA) used in the treatment and prevention of asthma symptoms and control of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) symptoms. Symptoms of b ...

or serevent in 1985, *

Ondansetron Ondansetron, sold under the brand name Zofran among others, is a medication used to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, radiation therapy, migraines, or surgery. It is also effective for treating gastroenteritis. It can be giv ...

in 1987, * and

Fluticasone propionate Fluticasone propionate, sold under the brand names Flovent and Flonase among others, is a glucocorticoid steroid medication. When inhaled it is used for the long term management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In t ...

in 1993.

Honours

Jack was knighted for services to the pharmaceutical industry in 1993. In 1987, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Science) by the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

References

External links

Last Word 25/11/2011

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

.
Interviews with Sir David Jack CBE FRS FRSE

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

Library Medical Sciences Video Archive * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jack, David Scottish pharmacologists Pharmaceutical scientists 1924 births 2011 deaths GSK plc people People educated at Buckhaven High School People from Markinch Alumni of the University of Glasgow Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Knights Bachelor Alumni of the University of Strathclyde