Miguel Ondetti

Who was Miguel Ondetti?

Miguel Angel Ondetti 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 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.