Medicine, Science, and Merck: The First Three Careers of Roy Vagelos

P. Roy Vagelos grew up during the Depression as a wise-cracking son of Greek immigrants. He left his family's small restaurant to become a doctor and went on to master three professions and become the Chief Executive Officer of the multinational pharmaceutical giant, Merck & Co. Medicine, Science, and Merck follows Vangelos' life from childhood to retirement, from his academic years at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University's Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital through his professional career at the National Institute of Health, Washington University, and Merck. Throughout, Vagelos never lost touch with his family values, his intense desire to help others, and his faith in the partnership principle and the competition that makes it work. P. Roy Vagelos and Louis Galambos offer an unusual perspective on working in three leading professions: medicine, science, and business. They take readers inside the laboratory and boardroom of one of America's large corporations, analyzing the mistakes and the innovations of Merck. P. Roy Vagelos, M.D. served as CEO of Merck & Co., Inc. from 1985 to 1994. Before assuming responsibilities in business leadership, he had won scientific recognition as an authority on lipids and enzymes and as a research manager. The author of more than 100 scientific papers, Vagelos has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. Louis Galambos has written extensively on U.S. business-government relations, on economic aspects of modern institutional developments and on the rise of the bureaucratic state. A professor at Johns Hopkins University, Professor Galambos is the author of several books, including Anytime, Anywhere (Cambridge, 2002). In Medicine, Science, and Merck, the authors trace the career of a son of Greek immigrants as he mastered three professions and ultimately became the Chief Executive Officer of America's most admired corporation, the multinational pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., Inc. As the authors show, there was hope even for a wise-cracking kid living through the hard times of the 1930s. Education brought out the scholar in Roy Vagelos, who left his family's small restaurant to attend the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. At NIH, he mastered biochemistry; at Washington University, he became a distinguished science administrator; and at Merck, he headed the pharmaceutical industry's most innovative laboratory and then became its Chief Executive Officer. Throughout, he never lost touch with his family values, his intense desire to help others, or his faith in the partnership principle and the competition that makes it work. In Medicine, Science, and Merck, the authors trace the careers of a son of Greek immigrants as he mastered three professions and ultimately became the Chief Executive Officer of America's most admired corporation - the multinational, pharmaceutical giant, Merck and Co., Inc. As the authors show, there was hope even for a wise-cracking kid living through the hard times of the 1930s. Education brought out the scholar in Roy Vagelos, who left his family's small restaurant to attend the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia's Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. At NIH, he mastered biochemistry; at Washington University he became a distinguished science administrator; and at Merck, he headed the pharmaceutical industry's most innovative laboratory and then became its CEO. Throughout, he never lost touch with his family values, his intense desire to help others, or his faith in the partnership principle and the competition that makes it work. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 9 Preface......Page 11 1 The Making of a Physician......Page 15 2 Hot Science in Big Government......Page 51 3 The French Alternative......Page 72 4 The Research University – American Style......Page 88 More about the Biosynthesis of Fatty Acids......Page 117 5 Turning the Corner at Merck......Page 120 6 Crisis......Page 153 7 Blockbusters......Page 166 8 On-the-Job Training......Page 189 9 Global Aspirations......Page 209 10 The Moral Corporation......Page 239 11 Getting to Know the Clintons......Page 271 12 Partners......Page 286 Index......Page 307 The authors trace the careers of a son of Greek immigrants as he mastered three professions and ultimately became the Chief Executive Officer of the pharmaceutical giant, Merck & Co., Inc. As the book shows, there was hope even for a wise-cracking kid living through the hard times of the 1930's Biographical text chronicles the life of Roy P. Vagelos, the son of Greek immigrants who became the CEO of Merck & Company. Provides insight into the discovery of lifesaving medicines and tells the story of an extraordinary American.