Hans-Jurgen Hess

Old Lyme — Hans-Jürgen Hess, 92, of 70-2 Sill Lane in Old Lyme, passed away May 28, 2023. Hans was born in Helmstedt, Germany, son of Karl Friedrich Hess and Elsbeth Annemarie Alma Hess June 20, 1930.

After receiving his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Technical University Braunschweig, Germany, in 1957, he came to the United States as a postdoctoral fellow, first on a Merck fellowship at the University of Virginia, and then to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he worked with Professor E.J. Corey, who later received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Hans was vice president of Medicinal Products Research at Pfizer Central Research, where he worked for 36 years. He joined Pfizer in Groton, as a research chemist in 1959, and led Pfizer’s Medicinal Chemistry drug discovery efforts in the United States for many years. He also established and led the Pfizer Drug Discovery Research organization in Japan, for more than ten years. He was named inventor or co-inventor on more than 100 issued U.S. patents. He is the inventor of Minipress® (prazosin), a structurally and mechanistically novel prototype agent for the treatment of hypertension, which was later found to also be effective for the treatment of PTSD. Among other professional activities, he was editor-in-chief of Annual Reports in Medicinal Chemistry Research, a premier reference publication of the American Chemical Society. In 2011, he was inducted into the American Chemical Society’s Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame. Following his retirement from Pfizer in 1996, he remained active in the sciences and served on scientific advisory boards and as a consultant to a number of biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies.

Outside of his scientific work, Hans had many interests. In his youth, he was an accomplished track and field athlete, winning awards in regional and national running competitions. After moving to the U.S., he took up skiing and tennis, and enjoyed fishing in the Long Island Sound. He was a world traveler, coin and stamp collector, wine enthusiast, and he loved hosting family from Germany and having his children and grandchildren visit him.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Lilo; daughter Bettina and her children Nicholas and Sarah of Narberth, Pa.; son Christopher and his wife Gina and daughter Hazel of Larkspur, Calif.; sister Brigitte Scholz of Egelsbach, Germany; and nephews and nieces in Germany. He was predeceased by a brother, Dieter; and sister Hannelore.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, July 28, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Old Saybrook. A donation in memory of Hans may be made to the Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau, P.O. Box 589, Old Lyme, CT 06371. Please visit www.fultontherouxoldlyme.com for tributes, directions and service information.