Miguel Ondetti

Miguel A. Ondetti (May 14, 1930 – August 23, 2004) was an American chemist famous for his role in the invention of captopril, the first of the ACE inhibitors used in the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Ondetti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and studied chemistry at the University of Buenos Aires, where he gained his PhD in 1957. After working at the Squibb Institute in alkaloid isolation he joined Squibb in New Jersey in 1960, working on peptide chemistry. With David Cushman, Ondetti started working on peptidase inhibitors in the late 1960s, work that eventually led to the invention of captopril.

Ondetti was awarded the Perkin Medal in 1991, and the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research in 1999 for his work in captopril.