P. Roy Vagelos

Pindaros Roy Vagelos, better known as P. Roy Vagelos or Roy Vagelos (born 1929 in Westfield, New Jersey), was president and chief executive officer (1985) and chairman (1986) of the multinational pharmaceutical company Merck. He attracted research scientists who developed many major new drugs. In addition to his business accomplishments, Vagelos is the author of more than 100 scientific papers.

Biography

Roy Vagelos grew up during the Depression as a son of Greek immigrants. Vagelos attended Rahway High School in his hometown.^[1] After winning a partial scholarship, he left his family's small restaurant in Rahway, New Jersey to become a doctor.^[2] He majored in chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1950. Vagelos later earned an M.D. from Columbia University in 1954.

Vagelos was deferred from military service while in medical school, but he was obligated to serve a two-year stint as an Army doctor. As a Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons trained surgeon and biochemist, Vagelos obtained a two-year assignment as a research physician at the National Institutes of Health (1956-1966). For Vagelos, it was a fateful turning point. He was associated with Massachusetts General Hospital, Washington University and the Washington University School of Medicine (1966-1975) before joining Merck, Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories in Rahway (president 1976-1984).

The author of more than 100 scientific papers, Vagelos has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

Roy Vagelos donated over 15 million dollars to the University of Pennsylvania, in order to create the Roy and Diana Vagelos Laboratories, located in front of the Chemistry Labs. This money also went to creating the Vagelos Scholars Program In Molecular Life Sciences, an intensive program offered to freshman attending the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he donated funds to create the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management, a program combining the Wharton School and the College of Arts and Sciences.

In 1995 Dr. Vagelos was the recipient of the NAS Award for Chemistry in Service to Society, and inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame. He received the Bower Award for Business Leadership in 1999.

In 2010, Vagelos, who received his M.D. at Columbia University, and his wife Diana, an alumna of Barnard College, an affiliate of Columbia University, donated 50 million dollars to the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, towards the construction of a new building, which will be named in their honor.

References

1. ^ Peterson, Iver. "A Company Move That Hasn't Irked the Neighbors", The New York Times, November 15, 1992. Accessed October 19, 2007. "In addition, Merck donated $40,000 to fund a study on improving Rahway's downtown business district, it paid $126,000 to help cover the cost of paving some roads adjoining its complex, and it put new scientific equipment in Rahway High School, the alma mater of Dr. P. Roy Vagelos, the corporate chairman."
2. ^ Johnson, Robert. "Looking Back Is Not an Option", The New York Times, November 28, 2004. Accessed October 19, 2007. "He is also promoting his new book "Medicine, Science and Merck" (Cambridge University Press), written with Louis Galambos, describing his path from son of a luncheonette owner in Rahway, N.J., to leader of a pharmaceutical giant."

External links

• How to Succeed
• Great Chemists
• The Future of the Pharmaceutical Industry, According to Roy Vagelos
• UPenn Honoree
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• P. Roy Vagelos on Charlie Rose
• Works by or about P. Roy Vagelos in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

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Name	Vagelos, Roy
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Date of birth	1929
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