Dr. David Hamilton Smith; Co-Developer of Meningitis Vaccine

Dr. David Hamilton Smith, 68, co-developer of a vaccine that has virtually eradicated childhood bacterial meningitis in the United States. The bacterium known as HiB can cause childhood meningitis and lead to paralysis, blindness, deafness, mental retardation and, in some cases, death. Smith and co-inventor Porter Anderson began developing the vaccine while both worked at the University of Rochester. But no drug company had faith in the vaccine, so Smith mortgaged his house and created his own firm, Praxis Biologics, to market the drug. According to federal statistics, cases of Haemophilus influenzaea Type B infections plummeted nationwide from 20,000 in 1987, when the vaccine hit the market, to 81 in 1997. Smith eventually sold his company to American Cyanamid for $232 million, and the University of Rochester has so far received about $29 million in royalties. Smith funneled much of his wealth into a foundation named after him that funds conservation and scientific research. Smith and Anderson were awarded the prestigious Lasker Award in 1996 in recognition of their work on the vaccine. On Tuesday in New York City of melanoma.