The American Institute of Chemists (AIC) will present the 2005 AIC Gold Medal to Robert L. McNeil, Jr., the brilliant innovator, manager, and entrepreneur responsible for the launch of Tylenol, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary as a safe and widely used drug.

The award ceremony will be part of Heritage Day 2005 at the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) on 9 June.
"Pharmaceutical innovator, talented manager, and community leader, Bob
McNeil grew a family business into a firm of national prominence, led the development of one of the leading pain relievers in the world, and continues to support many important community organizations," said David W. Riley, chairman of the AIC. "He combines brilliance in research with greatness in business, and true goodness with a full life of service to his community and the world."

The presentation of the AIC Gold Medal will be part of a day devoted to celebrating the
achievement and promise of the chemical and molecular sciences. McNeil’s receiving the AIC medal is nicely complemented by the awarding of CHF’s Othmer Gold Medal
to James D. Watson, co-discover of the structure of DNA. Herbert W. Boyer,
co-founder of the world’s first major biotechnology company, Genentech, will receive The Chemists’ Club’s Winthrop-Sears Award.