Medicinal research: Retrospectives and perspectives

Abstract

At the early part of last year the editor of this well-known series invited me to write a review chapter for an up-coming volume. In his invitation he allowed a generous latitude in the selection of topics and inferred that a review which would encompass my experience of a quarter of a century in the pharmaceutical industry, all of which was spent with CIBA and CIBA-GEIGY, would be most desirable. To this end and following several exchanges of letters with the editor, I have decided to present a review partly in the form of an autobiographical essay as it relates to the various influences in my background and train¬ing associated with the personalities and events which shaped some of the significant developments in medicinal research with which I was fortunate to be involved. My years in management will also permit me to comment retrospectively on the events of those times.