Dr. James Black, 85, a Scottish Nobel laureate who pioneered the rational design of drugs and, in the process, developed the first widely used drugs for treating heart disease (propanolol, brand-named Inderal) and blocking stomach acid production (cimetidine, brand-named Tagamet), died March 22. The drugs also earned him a knighthood and appointment to the Order of Merit, the highest honor the British sovereign can bestow.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
