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| Inducted: |
1995 |
| Region: |
Northeast |
| Industry: |
Health
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Roy Vagelos worked in his family’s restaurant in Rahway, New Jersey, scrubbing pots, peeling potatoes, and pouring coffee. Many of the diner’s customers were researchers from the nearby Merck laboratory. Vagelos liked talking with the scientists and asking them questions. As a result, he majored in chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. Twenty-eight years later he returned to New Jersey to become Merck’s head of research. Rising to chairman, he transformed Merck into the wonder of the pharmaceutical industry. Under Roy Vagelos, Merck reigned as America’s most admired corporation for seven consecutive years. |
