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Robert Arthur Oberlender
PhD
Born (1956-07-25) July 25, 1956 (age 68)[1]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1]
Alma materTemple University (B.S.), Purdue University (Ph.D.)[2][1]
Occupation(s)Medicinal chemist; Assistant professor[2][1][3]
Years active1984–present[1][4]
Organization(s)Purdue University (1981–1995); University of the Pacific; New River Pharmaceuticals (2000–2007); Synthonics (2007–)[1][5][3]
Known forWork in the area of serotonergic and dopaminergic drugs, discovery and development of lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse)[2][3]

Robert Arthur Oberlender (born July 25, 1956) is an American medicinal chemist known for his work in the areas of serotonergic and dopaminergic drugs as well as drug discrimination.[2][3][1] He is most well-known for his discovery and development of lisdexamfetamine (lysine–dextroamphetamine), which is now marketed as a pharmaceutical drug under the brand name Vyvanse and is prescribed as a misuse-resistant stimulant in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other conditions.[2][3][6]

Biography

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Oberlender attended the pharmacy school of Temple University in his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, receiving a bachelor's degree, and worked for two years as a pharmacist.[2][1][3] Then, he started a Ph.D. program in medicinal chemistry at Purdue University in 1981.[2][3][1] He worked in the lab of psychedelic chemist David E. Nichols studying psychedelics, entactogens, and related drugs, first completing his Ph.D. and then continuing in the lab as a postdoc.[2][3][1] His first publication with the lab was in 1984[4] and his last publication with the group was in 1995, a period spanning more than 10 years.[3][5] His Ph.D. thesis, published in 1989, was on stereoselective actions of psychedelics, including the lysergamides LA-Aziridine and LA-3Cl-SB and the DOx drugs DOIB and DOSB, as well as on drug discrimination studies of entactogens, including MDA, MDMA, MBDB, and MDAI.[1][3]

Oberlender personally self-experimented with some of the psychoactive drugs synthesized in the Nichols lab.[3] In the mid-1990s, he tried the obscure psychedelic tryptamine 5-MeO-pyr-T, a synthetic analogue of 5-MeO-DMT, and accidentally took too high of a dose of it without a trip sitter present.[3] While under the influence of 5-MeO-pyr-T, Oberlender stripped naked, began wandering the Purdue University campus in a fugue state, and was apprehended by campus police.[3] His case did not end up going to court, but the incident did result in Oberlender having to leave Nichols's lab.[3] His experience with 5-MeO-pyr-T was subsequently published anonymously in Alexander Shulgin's 1997 book TiHKAL (Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved).[3][7] The chemist publicly shared further details of the incident during an interview with psychedelic journalist Hamilton Morris in 2021, describing it as a cautionary tale of the risks of self-experimentation with little-known psychoactive drugs and the importance of careful dose escalation and of having a trip sitter.[3]

After leaving the Nichols lab, Oberlender worked as an assistant professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.[2][3] In 2000, he joined New River Pharmaceuticals in Blacksburg, Virginia and served as a director of drug misuse science.[2][3] While at New River Pharmaceuticals, Oberlender had a key role in discovering and developing the misuse-resistant dextroamphetamine prodrug and psychostimulant lisdexamfetamine, which had the developmental code name NRP-104.[2][3] Oberlender and colleagues patented lisdexamfetamine in 2006 and 2007.[8][9] New River Pharmaceuticals was purchased by Shire in 2007.[10] That same year, lisdexamfetamine was initially approved and introduced for medical use under the brand name Vyvanse in the United States.[10][11] Following these events, Oberlender started working at Synthonics in Blackburg, Virginia and began developing metal-coordinated pharmaceutical drugs at the company.[2]

Selected publications

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oberlender, Robert Arthur (May 1989). Stereoselective Aspects of Hallucinogenic Drug Action and Drug Discrimination Studies of Entactogens (Thesis). Purdue University. Archived from the original on 15 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Robert A. Oberlender, PhD". The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Hamilton Morris (22 August 2021). "PODCAST 26: An interview with Vyvanse inventor Dr. Robert Oberlender". The Hamilton Morris Podcast (Podcast). Patreon. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b Oberlender RA, Kothari PJ, Nichols DE, Zabik JE (June 1984). "Substituent branching in phenethylamine-type hallucinogens: a comparison of 1-[2,5-dimethoxy-4-(2-butyl)phenyl]-2-aminopropane and 1-[2,5-dimethoxy-4-(2-methylpropyl)phenyl]-2-aminopropane" (PDF). J Med Chem. 27 (6): 788–792. doi:10.1021/jm00372a015. PMID 6737421.
  5. ^ a b Oberlender R, Ramachandran PV, Johnson MP, Huang X, Nichols DE (September 1995). "Effect of a chiral 4-alkyl substituent in hallucinogenic amphetamines". J Med Chem. 38 (18): 3593–3601. doi:10.1021/jm00018a019. PMID 7658446.
  6. ^ Roncero C, Álvarez FJ (August 2014). "The use of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate for the treatment of ADHD and other psychiatric disorders". Expert Rev Neurother. 14 (8): 849–865. doi:10.1586/14737175.2014.932691. PMID 24948428.
  7. ^ Alexander T. Shulgin; Ann Shulgin (1997). "#43. 5-MeO-pyr-T; TRYPTAMINE, 5-METHOXY-N,N-TETRAMETHYLENE; INDOLE, 5-METHOXY-3-[2-(1-PYRROLIDYL)- ETHYL]; PYRROLIDINE, 1-[2-(5-METHOXY-1H-INDOL-3-YL)ETHYL]; 5-METHOXY-N,N-TETRAMETHYLENETRYPTAMINE; 5-METHOXY-3-[2-(1-PYRROLIDYL)ETHYL]INDOLE; 1-[2-(5-METHOXY-1H-INDOL-3-YL)ETHYL]PYRROLIDINE; "PYRROLIDYL-5-METHOXYTRYPTAMINE"". TiHKAL: The Continuation (1st ed.). Berkeley, CA: Transform Press. pp. 548–551. ISBN 978-0-9630096-9-2. OCLC 38503252. (with 4 mgs, smoking) "This was the free base. I remember the pipe, and the inhalation and, with the pouring of a small glass of scotch, I settled down in front of the TV to watch a re-run of Star Trek. That was it. I came to some time later in the front room of a professional ally of mine, who had by chance discovered me walking down the street near his house. I do not recall, nor have I been able to regain any memories of the time I was 'out there.' I apparently experienced no physical discomfort from the drug. In fact I distinctly remember feeling very comfortable when I awoke. Clearly this compound is some weird-ass shit."
  8. ^ Mickle, T., Krishnan, S., Bishop, B., Lauderback, C., Moncrief, J. S., Oberlender, R., & Piccariello, T. (2006). Abuse‐resistant amphetamine compounds (US 7,105,486 B2). United States. https://patents.google.com/patent/US7105486B2/en
  9. ^ Mickle, T., Krishnan, S., Bishop, B., Lauderback, C., Moncrief, J. S., Oberlender, R., ... & Verbicky, C. A. (2007). Abuse-resistant amphetamine prodrugs. US20070042955 (A1), 111. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20070042955A1/
  10. ^ a b "Shire buys New River Pharmaceuticals for $2.6 billion". PharmaTimes. 21 February 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Lisdexamfetamine". AdisInsight. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
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