News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

One of the scientists who developed the painkiller Ibuprofen has died at the age of 95.

Dr Stewart Adams famously tested the miracle compound by using it to cure his own hangover ahead of an important speech.

He and his team of researchers spent years testing different formulas in the front room of a Victorian house in Nottingham before discovering "2-(4-isobutylphenyl) propionic acid" in 1961.

It took seven years for the drug to be approved and licensed, but it is now one of the most popular painkillers in the world.

Dr Adams began his career at just 16 in his local Boots chemist in Cambridgeshire, prompting him to study for a degree in pharmacy at the University of Nottingham.

(Image: Nottingham Post/BPM MEDIA)

He later obtained his PhD in pharmacology from Leeds University before joining Boots' research department in 1952.

Dr Adams was tasked with finding a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis as effective as steroids but without the side effects - taking him on his long journey towards the discovery of ibuprofen.

He told the BBC in 2015 that he knew he and the team were on to a winner when the new compound cleared his hangover before giving a speech.

"I was first up to speak and I had a bit of a headache after a night out with friends. So I took a 600mg dose, just to be sure, and I found it was very effective," he said.

His son Chris confirmed his father died on Wednesday.

(Image: Nottingham Post/BPM MEDIA)

He told the Nottingham Post: "He was an incredibly modest person who was very much dedicated to his work and his family."

He added: "We are incredibly proud of him. I think quietly he was very pleased that people recognised him later on."

Dr Adams spent the rest of his career with Boots UK but kept close ties with the University of Nottingham, and received an honorary doctorate from the institution in 2013.

He was awarded an OBE in the 1980s, while the buildings where ibuprofen was developed have been commemorated with blue plaques from the Royal Society of Chemistry.