John David Phillipson (1935–2025)

On 17 March 2025, John David Phillipson FPharmS, aged 89 years, of Manchester. Mr Phillipson registered with the Society in 1960.

It is with sadness that we announce that J. David Phillipson has passed away at the age of 89. Born in Manchester, ‘Dave’ attended William Hulme’s Grammar School and then graduated with a degree in pharmacy from the University of Manchester, with prizes for the best overall student and special prizes in pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacognosy. Dave continued at Chelsea College, University of London, as a lecturer and was awarded his PhD in 1965 for studies on the alkaloids of Mitragyna species. During this time, he was seconded as a research fellow to the College of Pharmacy, Ohio State University from 1967 until 1968. Dave then joined the School of Pharmacy, University of London, also known as ‘The Square’, as a senior lecturer in 1972, became reader in phytochemistry and received his DSc from Manchester University, both in 1979.

Dave was appointed head of the department of pharmacognosy at the School of Pharmacy, University London in 1981 and then professor/emeritus professor from 1994 until 2025. He received Fellowships from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and Linnean Society of London in 1981 and 1983, respectively — in addition to many other awards and honours, including the Medals of the Phytochemical Society in 1994 and the Harrison Memorial Medal of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 1999. During his long career, Dave taught several hundred undergraduate pharmacy students, supervised 25 PhD students and many post-doctoral scientists.  

With respect to Dave’s research interests, the extraction and chemistry of alkaloids was his first ‘love’, especially during his time at Chelsea College; however, as his career developed at ‘The Square’, he was at the forefront of the application of biotechnology in pharmacognosy, with research in plant tissue culture for biosynthetic studies and the production of natural products, as well as the use of bio-assay-guided fractionation for the isolation of biologically active natural products from plants used in traditional medicines.

In the course of this work, he forged collaborations with many scientists worldwide and closer to home — an example being a very fruitful collaboration with the late David Warhurst on antiprotozoal, especially antimalarial, natural products. None of this would have been possible without Dave’s energy and passion for science, as well as his excellent social skills, wit and humour — indeed, there were occasions, especially at conferences, when Dave was the ‘life and soul’ of the party.

However, although an academic pharmacist, Dave took a keen interest in UK pharmacy issues and served as chair of the Hounslow and District branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain from 1971 until 1972. He was an enthusiastic contributor at the annual RPS conferences and was science chair in 1985. His chair address was entitled ‘A small cog in a large world’ and ended with the words, “If I am blessed with longevity, I would like to speak on ‘A large cog in a small world’”. This was not to be, but there is no doubt that Dave was, and remains, a very significant and much appreciated ‘cog’ in the pharmacognosy world.  

Following his retirement in 1994, Dave, with his wife Beryl, enjoyed travel and relaxation on cruises, but Dave continued working to complete the third and most impressive edition of Herbal Medicines with co-authors and former colleagues Linda Anderson and Jo Barnes, which is a valuable resource for practising pharmacists and for anyone interested in pharmacognosy. Dave regarded this volume as his most significant academic achievement. He is survived by his wife Beryl, his son John, daughter Sue and grandchildren Katie and Liam. 

Colin Wright, Doug Kinghorn and Michael Heinrich