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New Jersey chemist wins national award for drug research

Chemist Magid A. Abou-Gharbia of Princeton Junction, N.J., will be honored April 3 by the world's largest scientific society for his superior guidance in developing new strategies to treat disease. He will receive the 2001 Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management from the American Chemical Society at its 221st national meeting in San Diego.

"I try to create the right environment to motivate staff and stimulate innovation in the area of drug discovery," says Abou-Gharbia. As vice president for chemical sciences at Wyeth-Ayerst Research, a division of American Home Products, he oversees chemistry research at laboratory centers in New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.

"Early in my career, the research efforts of my team focused on the discovery of new drugs to treat psychiatric disorders, particularly depression," he said in an interview from his Monmouth Junction, N.J., office. That work led to the drug Effexor®, for example, which first came to market in 1995.

In depression, levels of two messenger molecules in the brain are abnormally low. Effexor® blocks re-uptake of serotonin and norepinephrine, which means once neurons release them to transmit a signal they stay active longer.

Abou-Gharbia said Effexor®'s dual action - that is, it enhances norepinephrine as well as serotonin levels - "make it highly efficacious. Patients feel better quickly, with fewer side effects."

His research team also works to discover new agents to treat stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, infections and other diseases.

"And personally, I also take a lot of pride in developing initiatives that encourage teamwork within our company and reward achievement," he said. For example, a yearly banquet he set up to honor Wyeth-Ayerst chemists whose work led to patents has now been adopted by other research teams in the company, he said.

A native of Egypt, Abou-Gharbia received his undergraduate and master's degrees from Cairo University in 1971 and 1974, then came to Philadelphia to obtain his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. He is a member of the ACS organic and medicinal chemistry divisions.

The ACS Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management is sponsored by Dow Chemical Co.

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