John Landis, PhD

John Landis has distinguished himself in the pharmaceutical industry. During his career, he has led the integration and globalization of preclinical development during three mergers of companies he worked for. He has done research to reduce drug candidate attrition leading to increased productivity in companies and was responsible for a global team of 1,400 scientists who were engaged in the development of pharmaceuticals. John has recently retired from Schering-Plough as senior vice president for pharmaceutical sciences.

Before attending Purdue, John received his bachelor degree in chemistry from Kent State University. While at Purdue, he received a MS in analytical chemistry in 1976, and his PhD in the same subject in 1978.

John began work for the Upjohn Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 2000, he relocated to the company’s headquarters in New Jersey after it merged with Pharmacia and G. D. Searle earlier in his career. He worked for Pharmacia for three years, until Pfizer acquired it in 2003. He then moved with the chief executive office of Pharmacia to Schering-Plough, a research-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in New Jersey with more than 50,000 employees worldwide.
John has assisted in the development of more than 40 medications, including but not limited to Xanax, Atgam, Prostin VR, Rogaine, Mirapex, Xalatan, Camptosar and Zyvox. He has served on many boards of directors, academic advisory panels, and numerous professional boards.

He is a current member of the Purdue Chemistry Council and the Dean’s Leadership Council for the College of Science. John received the School of Science’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1994. John and his wife, Sharon, sponsor a scholarship in the School of Electrical Engineering named for Sharon’s late father, Giles Morrill, who was also a Purdue graduate.