Pindaros Roy Vagelos (born October 8, 1929, in
Westfield,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
), better known as P. Roy Vagelos or Roy Vagelos, is an American physician and business executive, who was president and chief executive officer (1985) and chairman (1986) of the American pharmaceutical company
Merck & Co. (known as MSD outside the U.S.).
Since 1995, Vagelos has served as chairman of the board of
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an American biotechnology company headquartered in Westchester County, New York. The company was founded in 1988. Originally focused on neurotrophic factors and their regenerative capabilities, giving rise to i ...
.
He was founding chair of the Prix Galien USA awards committee (from 2007 to 2017) and was the first recipient of the Galien Foundation's Pro Bono Humanum Award, which in 2018 was renamed in his honor to the Roy Vagelos Pro Bono Humanum Award for Global Health Equity.
In addition to his business accomplishments, Vagelos is the author of more than 100 scientific papers.
He is also on the board of trustees of the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
and has funded three of the university's elite undergraduate programs: The
Vagelos Scholars Program in Molecular Life Sciences
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
(MLS), The Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management (LSM) and The Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER).
Biography
Vagelos grew up during the
Depression as a son of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
immigrants. He attended
Rahway High School
Rahway High School is a four-year public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Rahway, in Union County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Rahway Public Schools. The high s ...
in his hometown of
Rahway, New Jersey
Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...
. After winning a partial scholarship, he left his family's small restaurant in Rahway, to become a doctor. He majored in chemistry at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, graduating
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
in 1950. Vagelos later earned an M.D. from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1954.
Vagelos deferred 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
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded i ...
trained physician, Vagelos obtained a two-year assignment as a scientist at the
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
(1956–1966). For Vagelos, it was a fateful turning point. He was associated with
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...
,
Washington University
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
and the
Washington University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine has 1,260 students, 604 of which are pursuing a medical degree with or ...
(1966–1975) before joining Merck, Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories in Rahway. He was promoted to CEO and Chairman in 1985 and 1986, respectively, succeeding
John J. Horan.
He retired from Merck in 1994.
The author of more than 100 scientific papers, Vagelos has been elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
, the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
and the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.
In 1995, Vagelos received the
NAS Award for Chemistry in Service to Society
The NAS Award for Chemistry in Service to Society is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for contributions to chemistry, either in fundamental science or its application, that clearly satisfy a societal need." It has been awarded ev ...
and was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame. In 1999, he became a recipient of both the
Bower Award
The Franklin Institute Awards (or Benjamin Franklin Medal) is an American science and engineering award presented by the Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia. The Franklin Institute awards comprises the Benjamin Franklin Medals ...
for Business Leadership, as well as the
Othmer Gold Medal
The Othmer Gold Medal recognizes outstanding individuals who contributed to progress in chemistry and science through their activities in areas including innovation, entrepreneurship, research, education, public understanding, legislation, and ph ...
.
In 2013, Vagelos was invited to speak at the first annual Stony Brook University ''Research Your Future'' Symposium.
River blindness
In the mid-1980s, Merck & Co. discovered the drug
ivermectin
Ivermectin (, '' EYE-vər-MEK-tin'') is an antiparasitic drug. After its discovery in 1975, its first uses were in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis. Approved for human use in 1987, today it is used to treat inf ...
, capable of combatting the parasite that causes
river blindness
Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm ''Onchocerca volvulus''. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second-most common cause of blindne ...
. At the time, the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
and the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
were conducting a campaign against the vector-borne disease in
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
, and ivermectin was the most important drug in their arsenal. But the newly discovered drug was too expensive for those patients or their governments. Vagelos "wanted to see the drug widely used," so he influenced Merck & Co. to "make needed quantities of the drug available to these governments and patients, at no cost to them, for the treatment of onchocerciasis.” Over two decades, beginning in 1986, the drug reached more than 55 million people. The public health campaign was successful, and now river blindness is no longer a major public health issue in the savannah areas of West Africa.
Philanthropy
Together, Roy Vagelos and his wife Diana Vagelos donated over $15 million to the University of Pennsylvania to create the Roy and Diana Vagelos Laboratories. These funds also made possible the founding the
Vagelos Scholars Program in Molecular Life Sciences
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
, an intensive program offered to University of Pennsylvania freshmen. In addition, they donated funds to launch the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management, a joint program between the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and its College of Arts and Sciences. Later, they founded the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research, supporting the necessity of energy research.
In 2010, Vagelos, who had earned his medical degree at Columbia University, and Diana, an alumna of
Barnard College
Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
at Columbia University, donated 50 million dollars to the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, towards the construction of a new building named the Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center; it opened in August 2016.
In 2017, it was announced at the Crown Awards that the College of Physicians and Surgeons would be renamed the Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in recognition of a $250 million gift given by Vagelos to the college. A substantial part of the donation ($150 million) would be used to endow a fund that will help eliminate student loans for medical students who qualify for financial aid. Altogether, the Vageloses have been responsible for about $450 million in philanthropy to Columbia's medical school.
In 2022, the Vageloses donated $55 million to
Barnard College
Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
to support the college's
STEM education efforts. It is the largest donation in the college's 130-year history.
References
External links
How to Succeed in Business review of ''Medicine, Science and Merck'', 2004, by Vagelos and Louis Galambos
The Future of the Pharmaceutical Industry, According to Roy Vagelos Wharton School podcast from 2006
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vagelos, Roy
American people of Greek descent
Living people
1929 births
American manufacturing businesspeople
Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry
People from Westfield, New Jersey
Merck & Co. people
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni
University of Pennsylvania alumni
Washington University in St. Louis faculty
Rahway High School alumni
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
American chief executives
Members of the National Academy of Medicine