The Pill That Made Northwestern Rich

Lyrica, a drug used to treat nerve pain and seizures, has had a unique side effect: It’s helped Northwestern University build the eighth-largest college endowment in the U.S.

Initial research for the drug was conducted in a lab on the Evanston, Ill., campus about three decades ago. It eventually became Pfizer’s top-selling drug, generating $4.8 billion in revenue in 2015. That kind of blockbuster drug discovery is unusual, even for a major research school. But even more uncommon is what Northwestern’s then-president, Henry Bienen, decided to do with the university’s share of those sales.