Born in
Montreal,
Quebec, he gained his BSc (1947) and MSc (1948) from the
Université de Montréal and his PhD in 1950 at
McGill University. During his time at the
Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research he discovered the
Fujimoto–Belleau reaction, which is named after him and
George I. Fujimoto. After various academic research postings in the U.S. and Canada he became Professor of Chemistry at the
University of Ottawa in 1961. He moved to McGill University in 1971. Belleau worked in the 1960s and 1970s on research programs with Bristol Laboratories, one of which led to the non-narcotic analgesic Butorphanol. Butorphanol was found to have over five times the potency of morphine with far fewer side effects. Butorphanol is often used to relieve post-surgical pain and in the management of migraine headaches. In the mid-1980s he helped found what became the biotech company BioChem Pharma with colleagues
Francesco Bellini and
Gervais Dionne. The trio began work on the anti-AIDS drug, 2,3 dideoxy – 3-thiacytidine (3TC). Just prior to his death in 1989 he laid the foundations for Lamivudine's development, which was a significant advance in the fight against AIDS, and is credited with saving over 2 million lives. In 1981, he was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada. In 1978, he was awarded the Quebec government's
Prix Marie-Victorin. In 1979, he was awarded the
Royal Society of Canada's
McLaughlin Medal. In 2000, he was inducted into the
Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. In 1977/78, he was awarded a Killam fellowship from The Canada Council for the Arts. ==References==