Dr. Dora Richardson graduated from University College London (UCL) in 1941. There were few opportunities for female chemists at that time, and it took her two years to find a job at Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). She earned her PhD from UCL in 1953. Richardson worked in ICI’s Fertility Division under Dr. Arthur Walpole, investigating hormone related medicine for both fertility and cancer. She synthesized a compound known as ICI 46,474, which was tamoxifen. Her name is on the 1965 patent. Initial trials of tamoxifen as a breast cancer treatment were positive. However ICI decided to cancel the research because they did not believe it would be commercially viable. Richardson and Walpole were convinced they were on to something important and continued the research in secret. Tamoxifen was eventually launched in the UK in 1973 and went on to become a global success, saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Unfortunately Dora Richardson’s role in its development has been all but forgotten.
