Stanley C. Bell, 78, scientist

Stanley C. Bell, 78, of Narberth, inventor of the drug Ativan, died June 27 of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Gloucester, Mass., where he had gone to attend a friend's wedding.

Born in Philadelphia, Dr. Bell grew up in the Wynnefield section and graduated from Overbrook High School in 1949. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1952 and a master's degree from Temple University in 1954.

In 1954, he joined Merck, Sharp & Dohme in West Point, and was involved in the discovery of Diuril and Hydrodiuril, both diuretics. While at Merck, he continued working part time on his doctorate, which he earned from Temple in 1959.

From 1959 to 1982, Dr. Bell worked for Wyeth Laboratories. He invented 3-hydroxybenzodiazepines, drugs that slow the central nervous system. They include oxazepam (Serax) and temazepam (Restoril), both used to treat anxiety disorders, and lorazepam (Ativan), used to treat anxiety and reduce seizures.

He rose to manager of the medicinal chemistry department at Wyeth.

"He had such a genius for what he did, but he didn't consider himself any different for having it," said his wife, the former Janice Watkeys.

In 1982, he joined Ortho Pharmaceutical as director of medicinal chemistry. He retired in 1995 as senior director of drug discovery from the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute. His office was in Raritan, N.J.

In 1996, Dr. Bell joined a small start-up, Trophix, which became NPS/Allelix Neuroscience Inc., and he retired again in 2000 after the firm closed its Cranbury, N.J., office. He and his wife then formed a consulting company, Stanley C. Bell & Associates, based on the Main Line.

In 2001, Dr. Bell joined Onconova Therapeutics, an oncology company in Newtown. When he died, he was senior vice president of research and development, and adjunct professor at the Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology at Temple.

"He was going full blast," his wife said.

Dr. Bell was active with the American Chemical Society, wrote more than 50 publications, and held 170 U.S. patents. He was chairman of the Chemical Consultants Network, a nonprofit group that helps chemists become consultants.

He lived at various times in Center City and Narberth. He and his future wife met in 1965 while working at Wyeth; they married in 1967. His passions were science, family, fishing, and boating, and growing tomatoes in his garden.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters and a grandson.

Services were held July 2.

Memorial donations may be made to the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, 100 E. Lancaster Ave., Wynnewood, Pa. 19096.