Bruce Eliot Maryanoff FRSC (born February 26, 1947, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American medicinal and organic chemist.

Background and contributions

Maryanoff received a B.S. degree in chemistry in 1969, and a

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degree in organic chemistry in 1972, both from

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

. From 1972 to 1974 Maryanoff was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Chemistry at Princeton University. He joined McNeil Laboratories, Inc., a

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

subsidiary, in 1974 and advanced on the scientific ladder in various Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical units to the highest scientific position in the company. Maryanoff retired from

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development (J&JPRD) is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson that is responsible for discovering and developing pharmaceutical drugs. J&JPRD has research sites located in Raritan, New Jersey, Titusville ...

, Spring House, Pennsylvania, in January 2010. He is now affiliated with

The Scripps Research Institute Scripps Research, previously known as The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), is a nonprofit American medical research facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the institu ...

, La Jolla, California, the Pennsylvania Drug Discovery Institute (PDDI), Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He served as Associate Editor for the journal ''

ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters ''ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering medicinal chemistry. It was established in 2009 and is published by the American Chemical Society. The editor-in-chief is Dennis C. Liotta (Emory University) ...

'' from 2009-2020. He is married to Dr.

Cynthia A. Maryanoff Cynthia "Cyndie" Anne Maryanoff (née Milewski; November 27, 1949-) is an American organic and materials chemist. Among other awards, she received the 2015 Perkin Medal for outstanding work in applied chemistry in the U.S.A. Education Cynthia ...

. Maryanoff has been active in the fields of medicinal chemistry and organic chemistry. He is an inventor of topiramate, a unique sugar sulfamate drug, which has been marketed worldwide for the treatment of epilepsy and

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, attaining annual sales of more than $2 billion. Topiramate is also a principal component of the antiobesity drug

Qsymia Phentermine/topiramate, sold under the brand name Qsymia, is a combination drug of phentermine and topiramate used to treat obesity. It is used together with dietary changes and exercise. If less than 3% weight loss is seen after 3 months it is r ...

. Maryanoff is an internationally renowned expert in drug design and

drug discovery In the fields of medicine, biotechnology and pharmacology, drug discovery is the process by which new candidate medications are discovered. Historically, drugs were discovered by identifying the active ingredient from traditional remedies or by ...

, especially in the application of protein structure-based drug design. He made seminal contributions to understanding the

stereochemistry Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, involves the study of the relative spatial arrangement of atoms that form the structure of molecules and their manipulation. The study of stereochemistry focuses on the relationships between stereois ...

and mechanism of the Wittig reaction; adapted the cobalt-catalyzed

alkyne trimerization In organic chemistry, an alkyne trimerisation is a +2+2nbsp;cycloaddition reaction in which three alkyne units () react to form a benzene ring. The reaction requires a metal catalyst. The process is of historic interest as well as being applicab ...

to the synthesis of macrocycles; and devised novel

peptides Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides. A p ...

that undergo self-assembly to mimic native

collagen Collagen () is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix found in the body's various connective tissues. As the main component of connective tissue, it is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up from 25% to 35% of the whole ...

structurally and functionally. Maryanoff is an author on 280 scientific publications, including several books (editor), book chapters, and review articles. He is an inventor on 100 issued U.S.

patents A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

, has presented over 185 invited lectures worldwide, and mentored 11 postdoctoral associates. Maryanoff organized and edited a special memorial issue of the '' Journal of Medicinal Chemistry'' to honor the memory of Dr. Paul Janssen (2005) and has served on numerous editorial advisory boards for scientific journals and research grant review committees.

Awards and honors

*Johnson & Johnson's Philip B. Hofmann Research Scientist Award, 1978 *23rd Achievement Award of the Philadelphia Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS), 1984 *Johnson & Johnson's Philip B. Hofmann Research Scientist Award, 1987 *Fellow,

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

(AAAS), 1989 *Distinguished Chemistry Alumni Award from Drexel University, 1994 *Philadelphia Organic Chemists' Club (POCC) Award, 1995 *Johnson & Johnson's Johnson Medal for Research and Development, 1997 * Organic Syntheses Distinguished Lecture Award, Colorado State University, Department of Chemistry, 1998 *Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award for Service to the Profession, Drexel University, 1999 *American Chemical Society

Heroes of Chemistry The Heroes of Chemistry is an award given annually by the American Chemical Society. It highlights teams responsible for creation of innovative and impactful products based on chemistry and chemical engineering and is intended to show how human we ...

2000 Award, 2000 *Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), 2000 *American Chemical Society Award in Industrial Chemistry, 2003 *National Commission for Cooperative Education Co-op Hall of Fame, Class of 2002–2003. * Drexel 100, 2003 *Wyeth Lecture Award, Temple University, School of Pharmacy, 2007 *ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame, 2008 *American Chemical Society Division of Medicinal Chemistry Edward E. Smissman Award, sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb, 2009 *Fellow, American Chemical Society, 2009 *Prix Paul Ehrlich, from Société de Chimie Thérapeutique (SCT), 2010 *American Chemical Society E.B. Hershberg Award for Important Discoveries in Medicinally Active Substances, 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maryanoff, Bruce 1947 births Living people 21st-century American chemists Drexel University alumni Johnson & Johnson people Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Chemical Society