VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 2 - PAUL LECHAT (1920-2003)

Paul Lechat died at the age of 82 on February 27th, 2003, surrounded by his family. He was born on December 14th 1920 in Le Mans, France and obtained his degrees of Pharmacy (1942) and Medicine (1955) at the University of Paris. His research yielded fundamental contributions to pharmacology in several areas, including cardiac toxicity, antidepressant agents, the neurological effects of bismuth salts, the central nervous effects of thiazole derivatives, the properties of aminopyridines and the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Hundreds of publications testify to his prodigious output.

Most of Paul Lechat’s career was at the University of Paris, but he also taught in the Lebanon and Cambodia. He was a major figure in France, as exemplified by his Presidency of the Académie de Pharmacie in 1994, and of the Académie de Médecine in 1997.

He was also a major player on the international scene and contributed to the first definition of essential drugs by the World Health Organization. He actively participated in IUPHAR congresses, and hosted the 7th World Congress of Pharmacology in Paris in 1978.

At all times, he professed his belief in the essential role of pharmacology as a fundamental medical science. He was a great, if demanding, coach: always considerate and concerned with the well being and the future of those who worked with him. Those who had the privilege of knowing him will always remember the brilliant teacher, the impeccable mind, the true gentleman.

He was, and will remain, one of the founding fathers of medical pharmacology, not only in France, but in the whole world. We will miss him.

Paul M. Vanhoutte, President of IUPHAR
Department of Pharmacology, University of Hong Kong