Dean Emeritus Lawrence C. Weaver, PhD

University of Minnesota

Nominated by: Patti Engel, Engage Health, Inc.

The dictionary defines a "Hall of Fame" as a group of people whose achievements in a particular field are at the highest level. Based on this definition, Lawrence C. Weaver, PhD, represents an individual who should be part of the Rare Disease Hall of Fame.

Raised on a farm in southeastern Iowa, Dr. Weaver joined the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942. After receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross as pilot, he returned to the States where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Pharmacy in 1949 from Drake University and a Ph.D. in pharmacology in 1953. That year Dr. Weaver joined Pitman-Moore where he served as Head of Biomedical Research. He became the fourth Dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota in 1966, and served in that role until 1984 and again from 1994 to 1995. While Dean of the College of Pharmacy, he initiated the two-year post-baccalaureate PharmD program in 1971 and expanded the program to include students around the world. He proved to be a visionary leader in pharmacy who worked to ensure that PharmD students practiced and learned side-by-side with physician faculty and medical students.

After 18 years as the College of Pharmacy Dean, Dr. Weaver left academia to become the Vice President of Professional Relations for the Pharmaceutical Manufacturer's Association (PMA). It was at the PMA that Dr. Weaver acquired his passion for rare diseases, acting as the Executive Director of the organization's Commission for Rare Diseases. Working with patient groups, industry and legislators, the Commission was integral to the passage of the Orphan Drug Act, which helped to make therapies available to patients worldwide who suffer from rare diseases.

Upon retiring from the PMA, Dr. Weaver co-founded Orphan Medical, Inc., a company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for rare disorders. Under Dr. Weaver's guidance, therapies for homocystinuria, congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency, ethylene glycol poisoning, methanol poisoning, narcolepsy, and other rare conditions were developed and made available to patients. Based on this work, Orphan Medical received the 1996 Corporate Award for outstanding service to the rare disease community from the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). In a 1996 letter to the company, Abbey Meyers, past president of NORD, stated "Orphan Medical has taken on a Herculean task, adopting many orphan drugs that have languished for years, and for this you deserve great recognition."

Dr. Weaver has received the FDA Commissioners Award and other honors for his work in the orphan drug area, has organized several international symposia on rare diseases and orphan drugs and participated in advising and founding other pharmaceutical companies focused on orphan drug development. In 2004 the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy established the Lawrence C. Weaver Endowed Chair in Orphan Drug Development in honor of his many contributions and his commitment to developing therapies for rare diseases. That same year James Cloyd, PharmD a College of Pharmacy faculty member who was hired by Dean Weaver in 1976, was named the first occupant of the Chair and Director of the Center for Orphan Drug Research.

"Larry Weaver's leadership and vision have significantly advanced orphan drug research and greatly expanded the availability of medications to treat rare diseases," said Dr. Cloyd. "His contributions are helping millions of patients and families to lead fuller, healthier lives."