Dear colleagues
Our member Kirsten Myhr alerted me on the passing of Graham Dukes. Many of the HAI members will remember Graham. For this reason I post this obituary here.
Graham Dukes was born 2 November 1930 and passed away in Oslo 13 August 2023.
Prof Dr Maurice Nelson Graham Dukes was a physician and a lawyer, trained at Cambridge University in Britain and Leiden in the Netherlands. He has worked in drug research, national drug regulation, the World Health Organization, and a consultant for pharmaceutical policies and legal matters.
His PhD thesis (Leiden,1963) was on Patent Medicines and Self-Medication.
He started as a Clinical Investigator (latterly Research Manager) of Organon International (1961-1972), and then switched to the Dutch Regulatory Agency, where he became Vice Chairman and Medical Director (1972-1982).
He continued his career as Regional Officer for Pharmaceuticals, World Health Organization (Europe) 1982-1991, and became Director of the Regional Programme, 1987 onwards.
He became Professor of Drug Policy Studies, University of Groningen, in 1986, and Lecturer on Drug Policies, University of Oslo in 1997.
He became a senior consultant on drug policy to the World Bank and did missions to many African, Asian and Central European countries.
Member of Expert Group on Pharmaceuticals Policy, World Health Health Organization, 2004-2008 (ongoing)
Member of International Scientific Advisory Group, U.S. Pharmacopoeia, 2006-2010.
Graham was a skilful writer. Among his principal Books and publications:
• Author, The Law and Ethics of the Pharmaceutical Industry (2005)
• Lead author, Drugs and Money (for W.H.O.) (7th edition, March 2003, preparation for 8th Edition 2008)
• Lead author, Responsibility for Drug-Induced Injury (1988, Second Edition 1998)
• Editor, Meyler’s Side Effects of Drugs (1975-2006)
• Editor, Side Effects of Drugs Annuals (1977-1993)
• Author, Drug Utilization Studies (1993)
• Co-Author: Vitamins and Minerals: A Policy Outline (1992)
• Author: Side Effects of Drugs Essays (1991)
• Author: The Effects of Drug Regulation (1985)
• Editor, Int. Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine 1990-date
• Editor, Medicines and Money (World Health Organization) 1985-date (ongoing – new edition 2008)
• With Elisabet Helsing: A Short History of Eating
But he also wrote non-technical books: Nursery Rhymes for an Improvable World (2005), and Ghost Story – the History of a Remarkable Car (2007)
He authored also many scientific papers. See for example Pubmed and ResearchGate:
https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/M-N-Graham-Dukes-34824551
In 2000 he was appointed Officer in the Royal Order of Orange-Nassau.
Graham was married with Elisabet Helsing, who died 26 January 2019. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabet_Helsing,) Graham was also a close friend to Inga Lunde.
Graham will be buried 23 August 2023 in Oslo.
I will remember Graham as a skilful writer and consultant on pharmaceutical and legal policy matters.
I wish his family and friends strength with this loss of a remarkable man.
Wilbert Bannenberg