Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery

Dear Colleagues,

It is with an extremely heavy heart and immense sadness that we share the passing of Phil Low, who dedicated his life to developing new treatments for many diseases. Low served as Purdue’s Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery and the Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. He was instrumental in the founding of the Institute for Drug Discovery and the construction of the DRUG building where it is housed.

Low’s life goal was to help ameliorate human suffering through the development of new therapeutics to treat a large variety of ailments encompassing oncology, inflammatory/autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, and metabolic disorders. In his highly productive career, he discovered 17 different drugs that entered into human clinical trials. So far, this has resulted in the FDA approval of the prostate cancer therapy breakthrough therapeutic, Pluvicto, its companion imaging agent, Locametz, and the fluorescence-guided surgery drug, Cytalux.

His tireless effort resulted in obtaining more than 100 U.S.-issued patents, publishing over 500 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and founding seven companies including: Endocyte Inc., OnTarget Laboratories Inc., Novosteo Inc., Erythrocure Inc., Umoja Biopharma Inc., Morphimmune Inc., and Eradivir Inc.

In April 2025, Purdue announced the creation of the Low Institute for Therapeutics (LIFT) through a founding gift from Phil and Joan Low. LIFT is a nonprofit organization designed to assist in the advancement of Purdue discoveries into the clinic to support its mission accelerating the development of lifesaving innovations to reduce human suffering and mortality.

Through his passion and unwavering drive to make a difference, Low helped elevate Purdue’s global impact in drug discovery. His legacy will continue to inspire all of us who have had the privilege of working with and learning from him.


Zhong-Yin Zhang, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry
Robert C. and Charlotte P. Anderson Chair in Pharmacology
Director, Institute for Drug Discovery
Karson S. Putt, Ph.D.
Managing Director of the Institute for Drug Discovery
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