Friday 13 January 2017

Remembering Scott V.W. Sutton

IVT Network remembers Scott Sutton, a premier microbiologist, author, IVT Network Advisory Board Member, friend and mentor to many, By Jeanne Moldenhauer

Dr. Sutton worked at Bausch and Lomb and Alcon Laboratories in the research and development laboratories. He was responsible for the development of many microbiological methods. Later in his career at Alcon Laboratories, he did much of the early development work that led to Alcon Laboratories to be the first drug company to obtain approval of a rapid microbiological sterility test for their products.

After leaving Alcon, Scott became a Pharma Consultant at Vectech Pharmaceutical Consultants. When he left Vectech, he consulted through his own company, The Microbiology Network, Inc. Scott promoted pharmaceutical microbiology in many ways. He taught many courses, operated the Pharmaceutical Microbiology Forum, which presented conferences for the pharmaceutical industry as well as issuing the PMF newsletter for microbiologists. Scott also moderated the PMF List, an international discussion group for microbiologists and served in various capacities on the USP Panel of Experts. His experience in pharmaceutical microbiology was a level higher than most microbiologists. He always had a new thought or concept to challenge the current beliefs in microbiology, even if the beliefs came from regulatory authorities.

During much of his career, Scott also taught at local universities where students were able to learn from his great experience.

Scott was very involved with trade organizations also. One of these organizations was the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA). Over the years, he sat on several task forces, wrote books and book chapters for the Technical Books committee, published numerous articles, and was a frequent lecturer and instructor for the organization.

Scott also always tried to help if you went to him to ask a question or help in finding a literature reference. He had an extensive literature database including the specific literature and a system to easily find the article. If it was written about pharmaceutical microbiology, you could be almost certain he read the article.

He taught several courses for IVT as well and served on the editorial board of this group. One time, he gave a talk on how we one can use social media for microbiology. It was amazing how much research he put into the topic, including the full day a week he spent researching new topics on microbiology.

While at a PDA meeting on Monday October 19, 2015 Scott was at a vendor party and suddenly passed away. He was predeceased by his father, George L. and survived by his wife of 35 years, Mary Ellen. Their children include: Jessica (Shane) Logan, David and Steven Sutton; grandchildren, Jacob and Hannah; Scott’s mother, Grace Guidry; brother, Mark H. (Wendi); and several nieces and nephews.

The pharmaceutical industry as a whole recognizes the value of Scott’s work over the years. He will be truly missed!

Below is a sample of Scott Sutton's vast work for the IVT Network:

Successful Use of a Contract Microbiology Laboratory

Qualification of a Contract Microbiology Laboratory

Hand Washing - A Critical Aspect of Personal Hygiene in Pharma



If desired, contributions can be made to the Scott Sutton Memorial Fund, 150 Parkway Drive, North Chili, NY 14514

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