James Whyte Black

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Sir James Black

Sir James Whyte Black (born June 14, 1924 in Uddingston , Lanarkshire , Scotland , † March 21, 2010 in London ) was a British pharmacologist . He is largely responsible for the development of beta blockers and H 2 antihistamines used as drugs . In addition, he made significant contributions to the understanding of drug effects at the molecular level. Together with George H. Hitchings and Gertrude B. Elion , he received the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries on important biochemical principles of drug therapy.

Life

James Black completed a degree in medicine at the Scottish University of St Andrews , which he successfully completed in 1946. Despite his graduation, he decided against a medical career. In 1947 he accepted a teaching position in Singapore for three years . In the 1950s, Black worked at the University of Glasgow's Veterinary School , where he set up a physiology department. From 1958 to 1964 he worked as a senior pharmacologist for ICI Pharmaceuticals in Macclesfield . In 1964 he moved to Smith Kline & French Laboratories , where he stayed until 1973. In 1973 he was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacology at University College London . Frustrated by the funding problems at universities, he accepted a senior position at Wellcome Research Laboratories in 1978 . After disagreements with his immediate superior, Nobel Prize winner John Robert Vane , he left Wellcome in 1984 and was appointed professor of analytical pharmacology at King's College London , where he remained until 1992. From 1992 to 2006 he was Chancellor of the Scottish University of Dundee .

The focus of his scientific work was on biogenic amines and receptor theory .

James Black began researching biogenic amines, including adrenaline , during his time in Glasgow, when he was studying their effects on the cardiovascular system . Inspired by Raymond Ahlquist's observation that adrenaline mediates its effects via at least two different receptors , the α and β adrenoceptors , James Black set himself the goal of developing selective inhibitors of β adrenoceptors that did not exist at the time. During his time at ICI Pharmaceuticals, he developed the prototype of the β-receptor blockers, which later became known as beta blockers, pronethalol . Furthermore, in 1964 he developed the first beta blocker, which is still used therapeutically today, propranolol . The discovery of this class of active ingredients used in high blood pressure and heart disease is considered to be one of the greatest achievements in the field of pharmacology in the 20th century.

At the same time, he started a new project on the role of the biogenic amine histamine in gastric acid production . As a result of his work at Smith Kline & French Laboratories, he discovered the histamine H2 receptors and in 1972 developed the first therapeutically used H 2 antihistamine, cimetidine . Cimetidine became the top-selling drug of its time.

For his contribution to the discovery of important biochemical principles of drug therapy, he received the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1988 together with George H. Hitchings and Gertrude B. Elion. In 1976 he received the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research , in 1979 with a Gairdner Foundation International Award and the InBev-Baillet Latour Health Prize . In 1991 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences .

He was ennobled as a Knight Bachelor ("Sir") by the British Crown in 1981 and awarded the Order of Merit in 2000.

literature

  • Robin Ganellin, William Duncan: Obituary: James Black (1924-2010). In: Nature . Vol. 464, No. 1292, 2010, p. 1292, doi : 10.1038 / 4641292a .
  • Melanie P. Stapleton: Sir James Black and propranolol. The role of the basic sciences in the history of cardiovascular pharmacology. In: Texas Heart Institute Journal. Vol. 24, No. 4, 1997, ISSN  0730-2347 , pp. 336-342, PMID 9456487 , PMC 325477 (free full text).

Web links

Commons : James Black  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gisela Baumgart: Black, James Whyte. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 184 f.
  2. ↑ Knights and Dames: BED-BUG at Leigh Rayment's Peerage
personal data
SURNAME Black, James Whyte
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British pharmacologist, Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine
DATE OF BIRTH June 14, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Uddingston , Lanarkshire , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH March 21, 2010
Place of death London