The vital work of making asthma inhalers less damaging to the ozone layer has earned an AstraZeneca scientist two major honours – including a share in the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Paul Wright, Associate Director of Product Development in Pharmaceutical & Analytical R&D at AstraZeneca is one of around 1,000 international scientists to share the prize, which will be jointly awarded to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 10 December.

Paul was a lead author of one of the IPCC’s reports to provide governments around the world with the latest information on global warming and how to mitigate it. His chapter in the report, called ‘Safeguarding the Ozone Layer and the Global Climate System’, dealt with the next generation of inhalers.

Until the late 1980’s CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons) were widely used as propellants, and Paul, a volunteer with IPCC, was heavily involved in the transition to the less harmful HFCs (Hydrofluorocarbons).

“I am proud to be associated with the prize,” said Paul. “And it was really rewarding to be in a group with scientists from so many countries (China, Russia, Germany, USA and UK) collaborating and working smoothly together to achieve our report”.

Montreal Protocol Partners Award
Paul chairs the International Pharmaceutical Aerosol Consortium (IPAC), which also received a recent honour from the Montreal Protocol, the international agreement to phase out CFCs.
“IPAC has been awarded a Montreal Protocol Partners Award for our efforts in transitioning to HFCs and this is as important to me”.