Miguel Ondetti

Miguel Angel Ondetti (May 14, 1930 – August 23, 2004) was an Argentine-born American chemist who first synthesized captopril, the first ACE inhibitor that was used to treat heart disease. With his co-worker, David Cushman, he won the 1999 Lasker Award, with David Cushman, for: "developing an innovative approach to drug design based on protein structure and using it to create the ACE inhibitors, powerful oral agents for the treatment of high blood pressure, heart failure, and diabetic kidney disease".

Ondetti was born and raised in Buenos Aires and received a PhD in chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires, in his hometown, in 1957. In 1960 he moved to The Squibb Institute for Medical Research in New Jersey where he researched and developed Captopril in 1975.

Early life Miguel A. Ondetti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina; on May 23, 1930. Ondetti's background was Italian. His mother was an Argentine-born Italian, while his father's family had first emigrated from Italy to Paris, then to Argentina. Despite this, Ondetti considered himself a "first-generation Argentine". Ondetti's father practiced a family craft of making garden furniture from cement that imitated tree trunks. Following the mid-1930s he became a night watchman. His mother was a housewife who cared for Miguel and his only brother, who is two years older. Ondetti's first experience with chemistry was experimenting with his older brother. Miguel tried to electroplate a knife using a copper sulfate solution, only to shock himself.

Education Both Ondetti brothers went to a vocational high school to study bookkeeping and accounting. At the age of 16, Miguel Ondetti worked a day job while conducting his studies at night. Ondetti stated, "But then, I was already interested in being scientist, I think probably from the year that I started high school" in his 1995 interview. His interest in chemistry stems from book borrowing from the public library.

After graduating commercial high school, Ondetti experienced a major setback. The University of Buenos Aires denied admission because he did not receive a baccalaureate from an academic high school. Not discouraged, Ondetti audited his classes and received his baccalaureate in just two years. The University of Buenos Aires subsequently accepted him to their chemistry program.

Ondetti supported himself during his university years by working as a bookkeeper, using his first high school degree. He managed to get an early shift at the Department of Energy. This allowed him to attend the required laboratory classes in the afternoon. Ondetti's experience with chemistry laboratory was unfamiliar to his previous knowledge in bookkeeping, but was not off-putting.

Ondetti stated that his main interest was biology, "but one can't understand biology without chemistry". Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award, Research and Development Council, New Jersey, 1983 Ciba Award for Hypertension Research, American Heart Association, Council on High Blood Pressure Research, 1983 Chairman's Edward Robinson Squibb Award, E. R. Squibb & Sons, Inc., 1986 Award for Contributions to Medical Science, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and National Health Council, 1988 Inventor of the Year Award, New Jersey Inventors Congress, 1988 Perkin Medal, Society of Chemical Industry, American Section, 1991 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize, Harvard Medical School, 1991 Award for Creative Invention, American Chemical Society, 1992 Herman Bloch Award for Scientific Excellence in Industry, University of Chicago, 1992 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, 1999