Robert Ruffolo

Dr. Ruffolo is the retired President of Research & Development and Corporate Senior Vice President of Wyeth Pharmaceutics (now Pfizer). While at Wyeth, he managed an R&D organization of more than 7,000 scientists, with an annual budget of $3 billion. Prior to joining Wyeth, Dr. Ruffolo spent 17 years at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals (now GlaxoSmithKline) where he was Senior Vice President and Director of Biological Sciences, Worldwide. Before joining SmithKline Beecham, Dr. Ruffolo spent 6 years at Lilly Research Laboratories where he was Chairman of the Cardiovascular Research Committee.

During his lengthy pharmaceutical career, Dr. Ruffolo oversaw the discovery and development of over 30 marketed products that were approved by the FDA, and he played a significant personal role in the discovery and development of carvedilol (Coreg), ropinirole (Requip) and eprosartan (Teveten). He holds the patent for the discovery of use of carvedilol (Coreg) for the treatment of congestive heart failure which radically changed the paradigm for the treatment of this devastating disease and in 2016 was the 30th most prescribed United States medication with more than 23 million total prescriptions filled. Dr. Ruffolo has authored more than 500 full-length publications, over 200 abstracts and has edited 15 books, and has served on the editorial boards of 29 international scientific journals. Dr. Ruffolo and his wife, Stephany, established the Ruffolo Charitable Fund and have used the proceeds to support many charities, humanitarian projects and educational programs throughout the world.