Kent nurse involved in Viagra development retires

East Kent Hospitals' Ruth Hulbert looks back at her illustrious career

A Kent nurse who was involved in the development of erectile dysfunction drug Viagra has retired after a 41-year medical career.

East Kent Hospitals' lead research nurse Ruth Hulbert also worked on trials for Multiple Sclerosis drug treatments and research on Covid-19.

Ms Hulbert, who lives in Ashford, worked in critical care and as a midwife before going on to pharmaceutical research.

In 1992, she began working on a drug intended for cardiovascular issues called Sildenafil, which is now better known as Viagra.

She said during trial at a Pfizer research unit at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, trial participants began to notice some "unexpected side effects".

Ms Hulbert said: "I still talk about that now in training – people are used to the idea of adverse effects but it is important to find out about any effects.

"It was this information that eventually led to this drug being developed to successfully treat something else, in this case erectile dysfunction."

Ms Hulbert worked on research trials for cancer, multiple sclerosis and Covid-19 medicines

The unit was closed in 2003 and Ms Hulbert went on to work on cancer research and trialling modern treatments for autoimmune disease Multiple Sclerosis.

She said: "My dad had MS for many years and there were no effective treatments available for him during the 1980s and 90s.

"But now more and more new treatments are being developed through research, including treatments that can slow the progression of the disease."

During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Ms Hulbert worked on the RECOVERY trial which was used to develop antivirals to treat Covid-19 patients.

She said: "It showed what could be done, and to be part of the team at that time was an incredible privilege."

Ms Hulbert has said nursing was 'sink or swim' when she started out in the eighties.

Years after starting at the Bromley School of Nursing in 1984, Ms Hulbert has looked back on how much the nursing industry has changed.

She said: "When I started we still wore hats, and the uniform policy was very strict. Woe betide you if you were caught breaking it!

"The training was very different to now, and you were thrown in at the deep end. It really was sink or swim and you could be in charge of a shift in your second year.

"Some people did drop out but despite it being really challenging. I really enjoyed it and thrived."