Draft:Peter Dettmar

Peter William Dettmar (1944 – 9 October 2021) was a British pharmacologist and pharmaceutical scientist whose research focused on gastrointestinal disorders, particularly gastric and laryngopharyngeal reflux disease. He spent more than three decades at the pharmaceutical company Reckitt & Colman (later Reckitt Benckiser), where he became Research and Development Director for Gastrointestinals and contributed to the development of the alginate-based reflux treatments Gaviscon and Gaviscon Advance. After leaving Reckitt Benckiser in 2002, he founded the diagnostic companies Technostics Limited (2003) and RD Biomed Limited (2009), which developed Peptest, a lateral-flow immunoassay for the detection of pepsin in saliva as a marker of gastric reflux. Dettmar held an Honorary Professorship at the University of Nottingham from 2001 and an Adjunct Professorship at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center from 2003, was author or co-author of more than 530 peer-reviewed publications, and was named inventor on more than 40 patents.

Early life and education

Dettmar was born in Croydon in 1944 to Fred and Vera Dettmar. He spent his childhood in Welwyn Garden City with his parents and his older brother John. He gained a BSc (Hons) in pharmacology from the University of London in 1974, and a PhD in pharmacology from the University of Bradford in 1980; his doctoral research, conducted during his employment at Reckitt & Colman, focused on the opioid analgesic buprenorphine.

Career

Early career: Smith Kline and French

Before joining Reckitt & Colman, Dettmar worked at Smith Kline and French, where he was involved in research on the histamine H₂-receptor antagonist cimetidine (marketed as Tagamet), the first acid-suppressing treatment for stomach ulcers.

Reckitt & Colman and Reckitt Benckiser

Dettmar joined Reckitt & Colman in 1970, moving to Yorkshire that year, where he remained for the rest of his life. He initially worked in the company's research team on the development of an opioid analgesic without the addictive effects of morphine; the project's principal compound was buprenorphine, subsequently marketed as Temgesic, Subutex and Suboxone.

When Reckitt & Colman's research programmes were restructured in 1980, Dettmar moved his focus to the gastrointestinal tract, working on the use of polymers to treat gastrointestinal disease. By the mid-1980s his team had demonstrated that certain polymers could enhance the protective mucus lining of the stomach, and that combining these polymers with cimetidine produced an effect greater than either treatment alone. He subsequently led the company's gastrointestinal development work, contributing to formulations of Fybogel and Gaviscon, including Gaviscon Advance.

Dettmar progressed through a series of senior research and development roles at Reckitt & Colman and Reckitt Benckiser: Head of Worldwide Technology Research from 1995 to 1996, Global R&D Category Director from 1996 to 1999, and from 1999 onward Research and Development Director for Gastrointestinals at Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare. He left Reckitt Benckiser in 2002, after more than 30 years with the company.

Academic appointments

Dettmar held an Honorary Professorship at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nottingham, from 2001 onward. From 2003 he was Adjunct Professor at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he also served as Director of Research at the Center for Voice and Swallowing Disorders in the Department of Otolaryngology from 2003 to 2006. Over the course of his career he supervised more than 70 PhD studentships.

Technostics, RD Biomed and other companies

In 2003 Dettmar founded Technostics Limited at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, and the associated company RD Biomed Limited was incorporated at the same address in August 2009. Technostics developed Peptest, a lateral-flow immunoassay for the detection of pepsin in saliva and sputum as a non-invasive marker of gastric reflux, with clinical development commencing in 2004. At the time of his death he held the position of Research Director at Technostics Limited. Dettmar also held directorships in a number of other UK medical diagnostic and consultancy companies, including Selfnostics Limited (from 2006), Medipex Limited (non-executive director, from 2007), ClearSky Medical Diagnostics (founder director, from 2014) and CNUK Medtech Solutions Limited (from 2015).

Research

Dettmar's principal research interest was the investigation of pepsin as a biomarker for gastric reflux disease, particularly laryngopharyngeal reflux. He began researching reflux disease in 1981 and established a dedicated pepsin reflux clinical development programme in 1997, working with US researchers including Jamie Koufman. His other research interests included bile acids, mucosal protection, salivary mucins, bioadhesion, Helicobacter pylori, dietary fibres, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, polymers and biopolymers, and cell biology.

Honours and fellowships

Dettmar was elected Chartered Biologist (C.Biol) in 1974, Fellow of the Institute of Biology (F.I.Biol) in 1989, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Health (F.R.S.H.) in 1996. He held the Honorary Professorship at the University of Nottingham from 2001 and the Adjunct Professorship at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center from 2003.

Publications and patents

Dettmar was author or co-author of more than 530 peer-reviewed journal papers, conference abstracts and book chapters at the time of his death, with his ResearchGate profile subsequently listing 558 publications and over 9,500 citations. He was named inventor on more than 40 patents. He was a co-editor of the book Reflux Aspiration and Lung Disease (Springer, 2018).

Selected publications

• Johnston, N., Dettmar, P.W., Bishwokarma, B., Lively, M.O. and Koufman, J.A. (2007). "Activity/stability of human pepsin: implications for reflux attributed laryngeal disease". Laryngoscope 117(6): 1036–1039.
• Bardhan, K.D., Strugala, V. and Dettmar, P.W. (2012). "Reflux revisited: advancing the role of pepsin". International Journal of Otolaryngology 2012: 646901.
• Yuksel, E.S., Hong, S.-K.S., Strugala, V. et al. (2012). "Rapid salivary pepsin assay: blinded assessment of test performance in GERD". Laryngoscope 122: 1312–1316.
• Hayat, J.O., Gabieta-Somnez, S., Yazaki, E. et al. (2015). "Pepsin in saliva for the diagnosis of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease". Gut 64: 373–380.
• Strugala, V., Woodcock, A.D., Dettmar, P.W., Faruqi, S. and Morice, A.H. (2015). "Detection of pepsin in sputum: a rapid and objective measure of airways reflux". European Respiratory Journal 46(4): 1098–1100.

Personal life and death

Dettmar married Sally in 1966; the couple had four children. He was a supporter of Arsenal F.C., Hull F.C., and Yorkshire and England cricket, and played badminton, football and cricket recreationally during his time at Reckitt & Colman.

He died on 9 October 2021, aged 77, after a short illness, in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire.

External links

• ResearchGate profile
• RD Biomed Limited at Companies House
• Biographical sketch (PDF, RD Biomed Limited)

Category:1944 births Category:2021 deaths Category:British pharmacologists Category:Alumni of the University of London Category:Alumni of the University of Bradford Category:People from Croydon Category:Academics of the University of Nottingham Category:Wake Forest University faculty