Jed Rose (scientist)

Rose aided in the conception of varenicline for smoking cessation: In the 1990s Rose et al. conducted clinical trials of an agonist-antagonist combination treatment, using nicotine (agonist) and mecamylamine (nicotinic antagonist). The combination proved more efficacious than either agent alone. Pfizer pharmaceuticals cited this work as helping to inspire the development of the partial nicotinic agonist varenicline, which is currently the most effective pharmacologic smoking cessation treatment available.

His first NIDA-funded grant, “Scaling the Reinforcing Value of Cigarette Smoke” (1981-2000), measured the role of nicotine in tobacco dependence, by selectively varying nicotine concentrations in smoke while holding tar yield constant, using a two-barreled smoke-mixing device. This method was employed in research cited in the 1988 U.S. Surgeon General's Report on nicotine addiction.

Rose is most known for co-inventing the nicotine skin patch with the late Murray Jarvik, M.D., Ph.D. and K. Daniel Rose in the early 1980s. Rose et al. published the first study of the pharmacokinetics of a transdermal nicotine patch in humans in 1984 and the subsequently filed US Patent 4920989 which was upheld in a priority decision in 1993. This work helped pave the way for the development of commercial nicotine skin patches.

Also in the 1980s, Rose developed novel methods for reaerosolizing selected constituents of tobacco smoke in cigarette-sized devices, a forerunner of modern e-cigarettes.

Rose initiated the development of the nicotine patch for smoking cessation: In the early 1980s, he led the initial exploration of transdermal nicotine administration for smoking cessation. In a series of studies he and colleagues showed that transdermal nicotine administration reduced craving for cigarettes and that it was efficacious for smoking cessation. Rose experimented on himself, applying nicotine to his skin and measuring his body's physiological responses.