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March marks centenary of the birth of ibuprofen creator

Boots Dr Stewart Adams in 1970Boots
Dr Stewart Adams, photographed here in 1970, told the BBC in 2015 what he was most pleased about was that hundreds of millions of people worldwide are taking the drug he discovered

The centenary of the birth of the man who discovered ibuprofen is being marked in a Fenland town.

Stewart Adams, who invented the painkiller with his associate John Nicholson, realised it worked when it cured his own hangover.

He began his pharmacy career aged 16 at a Boots store in March, Cambridgeshire.

David Edwards, from the town's museum, said his talent was spotted and "he was soon transferred" to Boots' Nottingham headquarters.

John Devine/BBC David Edwards and March Museum displayJohn Devine/BBC
Volunteer David Edwards said March museum volunteers wanted to "put March's contribution to chemistry on the map"

Dr Adams arrived in March as a 14-year-old in 1937, when his father transferred to a job in the locomotive running department - the town had one of the biggest marshalling yards in Europe.

After two years at the town's grammar school, he took up an apprenticeship in retail pharmacy run by his local Boots.

March and District Museum volunteer and archivist Mr Edwards said once he was moved to Nottingham "he was given some sort of scholarship to Nottingham University".

On graduation, he joined the research department at Boots, eventually becoming its head of pharmaceutical sciences research.

March and District Museum 1930s' March Grammar school football teamMarch and District Museum
The museum found a picture of Stewart Adams (back row far right) in the grammar school's football team

Dr Adams and his staff worked for 10 years to find an alternative anti-inflammatory to aspirin,

They filed a patent for the compound 2-(4-isobutylphenyl) propionic acid - later called ibuprofen - in 1961.

It was not until 1969, after years of clinical trials, that it was approved for use and in 1983 it became available over the counter.

Samuel Kirby/Boots UK Boots UK and Dr Stewart Adams were presented with two blue plaques by the Royal Society of ChemistrySamuel Kirby/Boots UK
Dr Stewart Adams was honoured for his research which led to the discovery of ibuprofen in the 1960s

The museum only became aware of Dr Adams' connection to March in 2016, when it undertook some research into former students of March Grammar School.

Museum volunteer Victoria Beningfield researched his career and created a display which has gone on show to mark the centenary of his birth on 16 April 1923. He died aged 95 in 2019.

Mr Edwards said: "It's great to put March's contribution to chemistry on the map, which has obviously had a world wide impact."

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