“Mother’s Little Helper”

Leo H. Sternbach of Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. in Nutley is known as the father of Valium—a synthesis of the vitamin biotin and the compound 1,4 benzodiazepine. Valium was the bestselling drug in America from 1969 to 1982. Sternbach died in 2005, at age 97, with more than 230 patents to his credit.