Ernest Mario (June 12, 1938 – October 20, 2024) was an American pharmaceutical industry executive and the recipient of the 2007 Remington Honor Medal awarded by the

American Pharmacists Association The American Pharmacists Association (APhA, previously known as the American Pharmaceutical Association), founded in 1852, is the first-established professional society of pharmacists in the United States. The association consists of more tha ...

.New Jersey Pharmacist Receives Profession’s Highest Honor
,

press release dated December 21, 2006. Accessed May 13, 2007.

Early life and education

Ernest Mario grew up in Northern New Jersey, attending an elementary school of the Clifton Public Schools, then at 16, Christopher Columbus Middle School and Clifton High School. He received a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, and master's and Ph.D. degrees in physical chemistry from the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The univer ...

. As a youth, he earned the rank of

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

in the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

in 1954; he was awarded the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout who has achieved extraordinary national-level recognition, fame, or eminence within their profession ...

in 2000 for his service to youth.

Career in the pharmaceutical industry

Mario was a registered pharmacist in the

State of New York New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

and worked as a community pharmacist during his early career. After completing his graduate work, he began a career in the pharmaceutical industry, beginning as a researcher for Strasenburgh Laboratories in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. He subsequently held positions with SmithKline & French in Philadelphia, PA; E.R. Squibb & Sons in New Brunswick, NJ and Princeton, NJ; and Glaxo Inc. in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. From 1989 to 1993, he was the

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Glaxo Holdings, plc., a company headquartered in London, England. He served as deputy chairman of the board and CEO of Glaxo Holdings from 1992 to 1993. He was the chairman and CEO of Alza Corporation, based in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

, from 1993 until the company was purchased by Johnson & Johnson, Inc., in 2001. After Alza, Mario became chairman and CEO of Reliant Pharmaceuticals, based in

Liberty Corner, New Jersey Liberty Corner is an Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Bernards Township, New Jersey, Bernards Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset Cou ...

. He was also the non-executive chairman of Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc, based in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

, from 1993 to 2009. In April 2010, he was appointed to the board of directors for Vivus Pharmaceuticals. He has served on numerous other public corporate boards, as well as several non-profits.

Trustee of Duke University

Mario served as a trustee of

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

from 1989 to 2007, and chaired the

Duke University Health System The Duke University Health System is a private, not-for-profit, integrated healthcare system headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, United States. It combines the Duke University School of Medicine, Duke–NUS Medical School, Duke Univers ...

board of trustees from its inception until 2007. On July 1, 2007, he became a trustee emeritus of Duke University. In 2009 he was awarded The University Medal, Duke's highest recognition of service to the school. His 18 years on the Duke University board made him the second longest serving trustee in the school's history.Duke lowered its flag to half mast on October 22, 2024 to honor his legacy of service to the university and the health system

Death

Mario died of pancreatic cancer at his son’s home in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, on October 20, 2024, at the age of 86. He had been diagnosed with the cancer six months earlier. A memorial was held on December 7th, 2024, at the Edith Memorial Chapel on the campus of The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ, for both Ernest and his wife of 59 years, Mildred Mario. Mildred died on April 17th, 2020, but had no prior memorial due to the COVID pandemic.

Awards and honors

Mario held numerous civic and public health positions, including chair of the

American Lung Association The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. History 1904–1918: Founding The organization was ...

and chair of the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education. Mario advised the schools of pharmacy at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, and

. In December 2001, the Rutgers University College of Pharmacy was renamed the

Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy The Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy (EMSOP) is the pharmacy school of Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting ...

at Rutgers University in honor of him. The rotunda of the headquarters of the

in Washington, D.C., is named after him. In 2007, Mario was recognized for a lifetime of service to the profession of pharmacy when the

awarded him the

Remington Medal The Remington Honor Medal, named for eminent community pharmacist, manufacturer, and educator Joseph P. Remington (1847–1918), was established in 1918 to recognize distinguished service on behalf of American pharmacy during the preceding year, ...

, the highest award in professional pharmacy. He is the 79th Remington Medalist.

Notes

References

External links

*http://www.aphanet.org/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20070418141929/http://pharmacy.rutgers.edu/admin/new_name/index.htm
Forbes.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mario, Ernest 1938 births 2024 deaths Clifton High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Clifton, New Jersey Duke University faculty Rutgers University alumni American pharmaceutical industry businesspeople Pharmacists from New Jersey 21st-century American pharmacists