Roger Altounyan

Roger Altounyan was a Syrian-born Anglo-Armenian physician and pharmacologist who pioneered the use of sodium cromoglycate as a remedy for asthma. His family relocated to the United Kingdom where he studied medicine and started his pioneering research. He was also one of the inspirations for the characters in the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome, who was a family friend. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II and was awarded the Air Force Cross for developing new techniques in night flying. He worked at Benger Laboratories and Fisons Pharmaceuticals, where he discovered and developed sodium cromoglycate and ambicromil, two drugs that stabilise the mast cells and prevent the release of inflammatory mediators. He also conducted self-experiments to test the efficacy and safety of his drugs, and suffered from severe asthma attacks and anaphylactic shocks. He died in 1987 after accidentally inhaling a compound that triggered a fatal allergic reaction. He was buried in St Mary's Churchyard, Coniston, near his grandparents' home. He was survived by his wife Joan and five children. He was widely respected and admired for his contributions to medicine and pharmacology, and his courage and dedication to finding a cure for asthma.