Photo courtesy of RDD Online
Charles G. Thiel, one of the most influential scientists working in respiratory drug delivery over the past 7 decades, passed away on March 10, 2023 at the age of 94. In 1956, Thiel and co-workers at Riker Laboratories developed the first pressurized metered dose inhaler for delivery of medication to the lungs. Following the 1970 acquisition of Riker by 3M (now Kindeva Drug Delivery), he continued his work in respiratory drug delivery over a 46 year-career as Division Scientist and even beyond retirement.
Kindeva Drug Delivery Scientific Director Stephen Stein commented, “On behalf of my colleagues with Kindeva Drug Delivery, formerly 3M Drug Delivery Systems, we are all very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with and learn from Charlie. He was a great scientist, mentor, and friend to many and made a huge impact within our industry.”
Among Thiel’s accomplishments, Stein says, “he helped develop the first metered dose inhalers (MDIs) in the 1950s — which thousands of people take doses from every second of every day — and almost certainly millions of lives have been saved because of the invention of the MDI. He was instrumental in the development of the first CFC-free MDIs in the 1990s. He played an important role in establishing many of the test methods used to characterize and control the quality of MDI projects. He also published a paper in Respiratory Drug Delivery in 1996 from an inventor’s perspective on 40 years of MDI development and regulation that is still read and referenced widely today.”
Long after “retirement,” Thiel continued to be active in the field and contributed to USP’s Aerosol Experts Committee for more than 20 years. “In recognition of his dedication and exemplary leadership to the former Aerosols Expert Committee” and for his notable “contributions to the USP Advisory Panel on Aerosols, working on standards for a number of innovative and widely-used devices that increased the ease and precision of particle measurement and improved inhaled drug delivery to patients,” USP awarded Thiel the inaugural Jacob Bigelow Award in 2017.
“Deservedly, we will see his legacy carry on for future generations of scientists, particularly through the Charles G. Thiel Award,” Stein said. Virginia Commonwealth School of Pharmacy initiated the Charles G. Thiel Award for Outstanding Research and Discovery in Respiratory Drug Delivery (also known as the “Charlie”) in 2006, the 50th anniversary of the MDI. The first “Charlie” was presented to Thiel himself at RDD 2006, and VCU has since presented the award at every RDD meeting held in the US. At 90 years old, Thiel joined in the presentation of his namesake award at RDD 2018 in Tuscon.
RDD Online observes that MDIs based on Charlie Thiel’s work at Riker are still being produced today and that the development of that device “revolutionized the treatment of respiratory illness and laid the foundation for what has now become a growing pharmaceutical specialty – the field of respiratory drug delivery.”
Read the obituary for Charles G. Thiel
