Nariman Mehta
| Nariman Bomanshaw Mehta | |
|---|---|
|
Nariman Bomanshaw Mehta Nariman Bomanshaw Mehta | |
| Born |
April 8, 1920 Bombay, India |
| Citizenship | United States of America |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Kansas University |
| Known for | Scientist |
Nariman B. Mehta was born in Bombay, India on April 8, 1920. He began his schooling at the St. Xavier's College, where he received a B.S. in Chemistry/Physics and a B.A. in English/Economics.
Being an exceptional student, Nari was hired to private tutor over 80 students in math, physics, chemistry, and marine engineering. In 1939, he and a fellow student wrote and published “ Textbook of Theoretical and Practical Physics.”[1]
In 1947, Nari was invited by Joseph E Seagram & Sons to be a trainee in their research lab and study fermentation and distillation. This was all possible by winning the Tata Scholarship[2], a grant from Herman Wilkie[3] for exceptional students.
From 1949 – 1952, while on a US Navy Fellowship, Mehta earned his Ph.D. and minor in chemical engineering, at Kansas University under Dr. William E. McEwen, working on the synthesis of emetine. For the next three years, Nari was a Professor of Physical Chemistry at Wilberforce University in Ohio.
In 1957, Nari joined the pharmaceutical company, Burroughs Wellcome, Inc., now GlaxoSmithKline, where he worked on potential neuropsychopharmacological drugs. He designed, synthesized and patented[4] a single compound [BW 323U66] Bupropion, an entirely novel class of chemical structure for an antidepressant. In the spring of 1986, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it. It was the first drug approved by the FDA for “Cessation of Smoking” Zyban. Bupropion has four physiological activates: 1) antidepressants, 2) stop smoking, 3) increase in libido (women), 4) mild weight loss. Today, GlaxoSmithKline has sold over £900 million under the name Wellbutrin.
Nariman now resides with his three children and four grandchildren in Burlington, North Carolina.
References
- Mehta, N B (1983), "The Chemistry of Bupropion", The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (published 1983 May), 44 (5), pp. 56–9, PMID 6406464 Check date values in:
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<references />, or <references group="..." />- Mr. David L. Musso, Nariman B. Mehta, Francis E. Soroko, Robert M. Ferris, Elizabeth B. Hollingsworth, Bernard T. Kenney (2004), "Synthesis and evaluation of the antidepressant activity of the enantiomers of bupropion", Chirality, Chirality (published 2004-09-21), 5 (7): 495–500, doi:10.1002/chir.530050704, PMID 8240925
External links
- Certificate extending patent term under 35 U.S.C. 156
- GSK delivers strong 2006 performance
- Approaches to the Synthesis of Emetine from Reissert Compounds
