Magid Abou-Gharbia, Ph.D.
SVP, Chemical & Screening Sciences
Wyeth Research
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2006 Researcher Category
Magid Abou-Gharbia, Ph.D. is the Senior Vice President, Chemical & Screening Sciences for Wyeth Research. Dr. Abou-Gharbia joined Wyeth Drug Discovery and Development in 1982 as senior scientist and advanced through roles of increasing responsibility to Senior Vice President & Head of Chemical & Screening Sciences. In this position, he has built a strong multi-disciplinary Chemical & Screening Science organization. During his tenure he has fostered a highly creative environment based on modern drug discovery technologies, enhanced chemistry skills and capabilities via the recruitment of high caliber scientists. He oversees research efforts of over 480 discovery scientists at the four Wyeth Discovery Research sites: Collegeville, PA, Princeton, NJ, Pearl River, NY and Cambridge, MA. The Chemical and Screening Sciences Department is responsible for delivering a steady stream of NCEs into the development pipeline in 5 therapeutic areas on an annual basis. Under his leadership Wyeth Medicinal Chemistry has discovered three marketed drugs and many compounds currently under clinical evaluation including: first-in-class Antidepressant EffexorÒ
, Anticancer Agent MylotargÔ
, a Sedative Hypnotic SonataÒ
, a Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic TygacilÔ
, an Anticancer Agent Temsirolimus and a Non-Steroidal HRT Bazedoxifene.
His research interest included the manipulation of synthetic approaches in the design and synthesis of biologically active agents. Methodologies included: 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions, Claisen's rearrangement, Diels-Alder reactions, chemistry of ketenes, sulfilimines, synthesis of substituted steroids, the use of receptor homology, bioisosteric replacement strategies, rational and structure-based drug design approaches. These scientific contributions have resulted in over 130 publications, presentations and invited lectures and 95 US-issued patents and >300 patents worldwide.
Dr. Abou-Gharbia's scientific accomplishments have been recognized through numerous awards from external scientific and professional organizations as well as internal recognition. At the national level awards include: The New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame Award (2004), Procter Medal (2003) and the American Chemical Society Earle B. Barnes Award (2001). Other honors include: recognition by Philadelphia Organic Chemists Club (POCC) (2001), Scientific Research (2001), Egyptian Pharmaceutical Society Award, Drug Discovery Research (2000), ACS-Philadelphia Section Award (1997), Wyeth-Ayerst Exceptional Achievement Award (1992), and others.
Dr. Abou-Gharbia received his BS in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1971, MS in Organic Chemistry in 1974 from Cairo University, and PhD in 1979 from The University of Pennsylvania followed by a two-year NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship at Temple University.
Scientific and Professional activities include: American Chemical Society, Society for Neuroscience, American Association for the Advancement of Science, The Royal Society of Chemistry and member of the New York Academy of Sciences. He is on the Editorial and Scientific Advisory Boards of many journals. Dr. Abou-Gharbia holds several academic appointments including: adjunct Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA; Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt and at the University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; Past Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of Rider University; Board of Visitors of the School of Pharmacy, Temple University; member of the Egyptian American SAB for the Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Industry and a member of the R&D Council of New Jersey.
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