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Roger Newton '72
Roger Newton ’72, the co-creator of the cholesterol-reducing drug Lipitor, will visit campus Sept. 24 to discuss his career in the pharmaceutical industry and the benefits of a Lafayette education.
His talk, “The Labyrinthine Career Path of a Lafayette Biology Student: From Academia to Big Pharma to Biotech,” will be at 11 a.m. in room 102 of Kunkel Hall. The event is sponsored by the biology department.
Newton, a biology graduate, was with Warner Lambert/Parke-Davis (now Pfizer) from 1981-1998. As chairman of the Atherosclerosis Drug Discovery Team, he co-discovered atorvastatin (Lipitor), which is now the most prescribed cholesterol-reducing drug in the world. With almost 30 years in the industry, he has served as senior vice president of Pfizer Global Research and Development and is currently founder, president, and CEO of Esperion Therapeutics in Plymouth, Mich.
Newton has co-authored nearly 100 peer-reviewed professional articles and chapters, and is an adjunct associate professor in pharmacology at University of Michigan Medical School. He received a Ph.D. in nutrition from University of California, Davis, and a master of science in nutritional biochemistry from University of Connecticut.
He is the recipient of Lafayette’s George Washington Kidd, Class of 1836 Award, given for career distinction. Newton was also named Entrepreneur of the Year by New Enterprise Forum (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Eastern Region), Executive of the Year by Ann Arbor Business Review, and Michigan Venture Capital Entrepreneur of the Year.