Marvin Jaffe

Marvin Eugene Jaffe, M.D. Sarasota, FL Naples FL

Marvin 'Marv' Eugene Jaffe, M.D., prominent physician in the New Jersey and National Pharmaceutical Industry, recently of Skillman, NJ, died unexpectedly June 23, 2015 of natural causes. Marvin, son of William and Ida (Weiner) Jaffe was born in Philadelphia July 16, 1936. He resided in Huntingdon Valley, PA for two decades before moving to Skillman, NJ in 1996.

Marvin was predeceased by his wife of 56 years Joan (Fineman) Jaffe; his parents, William and Ida Jaffe; and his brother, Joel Jaffe, D.O.

He is survived by his wife, Susan Alexander; and his sister, Elaine (Jaffe) Soffer. He will be missed by his children and their spouses: Jonathan and Brenda, Matthew and Ruth, Ondria and Peter Wasem, Joshua Jaffe, and Suzanne Lahey; and grandchildren, Kaitlyn, Brian, Daniel, Seth, Linnea, Rachel, Elliot, Emily, Caroline, and Kevin.

He enjoyed world travel, was an avid golfer, football and ice hockey fan, and generously supported many Naples organizations including the Naples Opera, the Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts, the Gulfshore Playhouse, and the Naples Botanical Society.

Dr. Marvin E. Jaffe was the President of the RW Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute of the Johnson & Johnson Company from August 1988 to March 1994. Dr. Jaffe held a number of medical management positions at Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories, including Vice President of Clinical Research from 1978 to 1987, and Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs from 1987 to 1988. During his career at Merck he was responsible for bringing a number of first in class drugs including Sinemet® (for Parkinsonism) and Mevacor®( for cholesterol) to market. In addition, he had an integral role in the Astra-Merck alliance which resulted in the development of Prilosec®. Dr. Jaffe was the Chairman of the R&D Section Steering Committee of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturer's Association and a Commissioner of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturer's Association commission on Drugs for Rare Diseases. He was a Fellow of the America Academy of Neurology, and a Member of the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and the Drug Information Association. He served on the board of numerous biopharmaceutical companies from 1994 to 2011. Dr. Jaffe was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in England and the President of the Royal Society of Medicine Foundation, Inc., in the United States. He was a Board Member of the Society for Chronic Diseases, and also served on the Advisory Committee to the HarvardMIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

Dr. Jaffe had published extensively in medical journals on his research in the field of cerebrovascular diseases and was an expert in cerebral metabolism and pharmacology as well as the drug development process. He was a Board-certified neurologist and a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.

Following valedictory graduation from Philadelphia's Central High School, he pursued undergraduate studies at Temple University, and then Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia where he obtained his M.D. Upon graduating Jefferson he served in the U.S. Army Medical Corp, which was followed by a residency in Neurology at Jefferson, and staff appointment at the Philadelphia General Hospital.

Dr. Jaffe retired from Johnson & Johnson in 1994 and continued to serve as a consultant and board member to the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He had served on the Board of Directors at Immunomedics Inc., Allos, NeoGenomics, Genetic Therapy Inc., Genta, Vernalis Group plc., Celltech Group plc., and Matrix Pharmaceuticals. He was on the Scientific Advisory Boards of the Seaver Autism Foundation and the Jefferson Medical College Hospital for Neuroscience. He was a partner of Naimark Associates, which consults to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Memorial services will be held Tuesday, July 14th at 11:00 a.m. at Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, Princeton, NJ 08540, telephone 609924-8144.

Local services will be held Friday, July 17th, 11:00 a.m. at Unity of Naples, 2000 Unity Way, Naples, FL, telephone 239-775-3009.

Donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the Seaver Autism Center at http://icahn.mssm.edu/research/centers/seav er-autism-center/contribute or by check to Seaver Autism Center and mailed to Mount Sinai Development Office, One Gustave Levy Place, Box 1049, New York, NY 10029, or by calling Ashley Paveglio at Mt. Sinai, 646-6058749.