Leo H. Sternbach
Born May 7 1908 - Died September 28, 2005

Valium
Patent Number(s) 3,371,085

Inducted 2005

Leo H. Sternbach is known throughout the scientific world for the discovery of a new class of tranquilizers, including Valium and Librium, ranking him as one of the leading innovators of his time. His medical innovations brought vast improvements to the quality of life for those suffering from anxiety and sleep disorders and earned him over 100 U.S. patents.

Invention Impact

The discovery of benzodiazepines by Leo Sternbach and colleagues Lowell Randall and Earl Reeder improved the lives of many people and introduced a new class of safe and effective tranquilizers to treat sleep and anxiety disorders. Librium and Valium , the first two drugs from a new class called benzodiazepines, proved to be more effective at reducing stress and anxiety than previous tranquilizers and had fewer side effects. The global healthcare company Roche introduced Librium in 1960 and Valium in 1963, the most prescribed drug in the world from 1969 to 1982.

The success of Librium and Valium prompted further research into other types of benzodiazepines and several variants were developed by Roche (Versed , Klonopin , Dalmane , and Lexotan ), in addition to products from other companies (Atavan and Xanax ). Since their worldwide launch more than 40 years ago, benzodiazepines have proven to be safe and effective, when used properly.

Inventor Bio

Sternbach was born in Abbazia, now part of Croatia, and earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry, his greatest passion, from the University of Krakow in Poland in 1931. He began his career at Roche in 1940 in Switzerland but was forced to flee to the company's U.S. headquarters the following year to escape the Nazi occupation of Europe. Sternbach maintained an office at the Roche New Jersey site until 2004.