Kenneth G. Chapman, Compliance Pioneer, Dies

Mystic, CT (Oct. 26)-Kenneth G. Chapman died at his home on Oct. 26. He was 79. The cause was pancreatic cancer.

Chapman, a long-time member of Pharmaceutical Technology's Editorial Advisory Board, founded the GxP compliance consulting firm, Drumbeat Dimensions (Groton, CT, www.drumkey.com), in 1995, building on validation methods developed during a five-decade career in which he helped to define the meaning of good-practice compliance. He served as Drumbeat's CEO until his retirement earlier this year.

Before founding Drumbeat, Chapman spent a year as vice-president of validation technology at Kemper-Masterson (now part of Parexel). He spent most of his career, however, working for Pfizer (Groton, CT, www.pfizer.com), where he served for 43 years in several production, development, and quality control roles. In 1994, he retired from Pfizer as director of corporate quality assurance audit.

In addition to advising Pharmaceutical Technology (which presented him its Publisher's Award), Chapman served on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Validation Technology, earning the Institute of Validation Technology's  Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.

While working at Pfizer, Chapman cochaired a joint Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) committee on quality control and R&D. The group worked with the US Food and Drug Administration to identify specific GMP requirements for preparation of clinical supplies.

Later in his career, Chapman chaired PhRMA committees working on validation, water quality, and computer-system validation standards.

Chapman received the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineers (ISPE) Engineer of the Year Award in 1986.

He was also active in the Parenteral Drug Association, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the American Society for Quality.

Chapman earned his BChE from Yale University in 1950, after spending three years in the Navy, and earned a MChE from the University of Delaware in 1951.

 He was born in New London, CT, and lived most of his life in Groton and Mystic. He leaves a brother, Robert Chapman of Voluntown, CT; four daughters, Mary Jo Chapman of Mystic, Barbara Smith of Middlefield, CT, Patricia Barnes of Baltic, CT, and the Rev. Mardie Jean Chapman of St. Petersburg, FL; five granddaughters, and a grandson.

Donations in his memory may be directed to the charity of the donor's choice.