NRI Pharma Scientist Wins Lifetime Achievement Award

Dr. Samba Reddy received the ABAP Lifetime Gold Medal Award for distinguished contribution to pharmacy profession.

Every year, the Association of Biotechnology and Pharmacy (ABAP) selects one member worldwide to confer the Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize outstanding lifelong contributions to the professional field of pharmacy. ABAP is an international scientific organization involved in promoting the biotechnological and pharmaceutical fields in Asia, Europe and United States.  

This year, Dr. Samba Reddy, Professor at the Texas A&M College of Medicine, has been conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 13th annual convention of ABAP & International Biotechnology Conference on December 20, 2019 in Vijayawada, India.  

Dr. Reddy received this coveted honor in recognition of his distinguished scientific research and dedicated service to the profession in the field of pharmacy, according to the meeting souvenir and website release. The award and Gold medal were presented to Dr. Reddy at the inaugural session by Dr. Appa Rao, Hon’ble vice-chancellor of University of Hyderabad, and Dr. K.S. Rao, Hon’ble vice-chancellor of Mizoram Central University, India.    

Dr. Reddy’s work over the past two decades has laid the groundwork for understanding neurobiology of neurosteroids in brain disorders.  He has made a seminal contribution to epilepsy and elucidated the pivotal role of neurosteroids in neuroendocrine conditions, leading to the discovery of neurosteroid replacement therapy.  His work has contributed to development of two medicines for brain disorders (brexanolone and ganaxolone). This work has had a profound impact in pharmacy field and has benefitted millions of patients worldwide. In 2019, the first neurosteroid allopregnanolone (brexanolone) was approved by the FDA for clinical use in post-partum depression, which affects nearly 10% of childbearing women. The synthetic analog ganaxolone is in advanced trial for treating seizures disorder that affects 50 million people worldwide.

Dr. Reddy, who hails from Warangal in Telangana, has trained over 50 students/postdocs, authored 5 textbooks, and published over 190 scientific papers. In addition to teaching and research, he provides selfless services as expert member on many national and international scientific panels in USA, and participates in charitable services in India.