He turned down an offer to study for a doctorate and instead worked as an assistant lecturer at the
University of Glasgow. In 1951 he joined the pharmaceutical company
Glaxo Laboratories, moving to Smith Kline and French in 1953. In 1961 he became director of research at
Allen and Hanburys, a subsidiary of Glaxo, and served as Glaxo's research and development director from 1978 until his official retirement in 1987. Jack was known for heading a research team which developed the following drugs: •
Beclometasone in 1962 •
Salbutamol or Albuterol in 1966, •
Ranitidine in 1977, •
Sumatriptan in 1984, •
Salmeterol or serevent in 1985, •
Ondansetron in 1987, • and
Fluticasone propionate in 1993. ==Honours==