Richard D. DiMarchi (born December 5, 1952) is an American pharmaceutical chemist, academic, and businessman. He is the current

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

in biomolecular sciences and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

. He is most notable for his work as a former

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colonel ...

. He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

in 1974, and his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

from

in 1979. He did his postdoctoral research at

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classif ...

under the mentorship of

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...

Robert Bruce Merrifield. DiMarchi recently developed a synthetic analog of the human version of the hormone

glucagon Glucagon is a peptide hormone, produced by alpha cells of the pancreas. It raises concentration of glucose and fatty acids in the bloodstream, and is considered to be the main catabolic hormone of the body. It is also used as a Glucagon (medicati ...

. DiMarchi's glucagon analog possesses similar biological properties to natural glucagon. It dissolves easily and maintains its structural integrity over extended periods at room temperature. DiMarchi left Eli Lilly in 2003 after working for 22 years, and has since founded six biotech companies based on the research he began there. He co-founded Ambrx along with

Peter G. Schultz Peter G. Schultz (born June 23, 1956) is an American chemist. He is the CEO and Professor of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute, the founder and former director of GNF, and the founding director of the California Institute for Biomedi ...

, that modifies therapeutic proteins to treat metabolic-related diseases, and later acquired by a Chinese consortium in 2015. In 2006, his lab at Indiana University spun off Marcadia Biotech, focusing on obesity and diabetes. It was sold to

Roche F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche, is a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX S ...

in 2010, where DiMarchi worked on a part-time basis for three years. He co-founded Calibrium and MB2 in 2013 and 2015, respectively, both of which were eventually acquired by

Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, with production facilities in nine countries, and affiliates or offices in five countries. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder ...

. He is the Linda & Jack Gill Chair in Biomolecular Sciences and Professor of Chemistry at Indiana University. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014 for his role in the scientific advancements that led to the development of some of the first rDNA-derived medicines, including

Humalog Insulin lispro, sold under the brand name Humalog among others, is a modified type of medical insulin used to treat type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It is used by injection under the skin or within an insulin pump. Onset of effects typically occu ...

and

Forteo Teriparatide, sold under the brand name Forteo, is a form of parathyroid hormone (PTH) consisting of the first ( N-terminus) 34 amino acids, which is the bioactive portion of the hormone. It is an effective anabolic (promoting bone formation) ag ...

. The following year, he was elected as member of the National Academy of Medicine. In 2016, he received the Alfred Burger Award in Medicinal Chemistry from

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

References

External links

Richard D. DiMarchi at Indiana University – Bloomington
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimarchi, Richard Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry Eli Lilly and Company people Florida Atlantic University alumni Indiana University alumni Indiana University faculty Living people 1952 births Members of the National Academy of Medicine