George H. Hitchings; Nobel Prize Winner for Drug Research

Dr. George H. Hitchings, 92, who shared a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1988 for drug research. The Nobel was granted for pharmaceutical research that led to development of drugs for treating such illnesses as leukemia, gout, malaria and AIDS. He shared the prize with his research associate, Dr. Gertrude Elion at Burroughs Wellcome Co. in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and with James W. Black of London, who did breakthrough research for Britain’s Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. Born in Hoquiam, Wash., Hitchings earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry at the University of Washington and a doctorate in biochemistry at Harvard University. He wrote widely and was responsible for 89 U.S. patents. As a volunteer, Hitchings was president of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, which provides financial support for the Red Cross and for academic research. Hitchings taught at Harvard and Western Reserve University. In addition to the Nobel, he won the Albert Schweitzer International Prize for Medicine in 1989. On Friday in Chapel Hill, N.C.