ICS Acharya P. C. Ray Award Sukh Dev FNA, FASc (17 June 1923 – 16 October 2024) was an Indian organic chemist, academic, researcher and writer, known for his contributions in the development of guggulsterone, a plant-derived steroid used as a therapeutic and nutritional agent.

[6] Sukh Dev was born on 17 June 1923[5] at Chakwal, in the Punjab province of British India to Hari Chand Lala and Maya Vanti.

[1][7] He graduated with honours from Dayanand Anglo Vedic College, Lahore of the Punjab University in 1943 and secured his master's degree (MSc) from the same institution in 1945.

Moving to India after the Partition, he studied under noted natural products chemist Praphulla Chandra Guha at the IISc, obtaining his PhD in 1948.

[1] He focused a part of his research on lac, turpentine, Cedrus deodara (Devadaaru) and Indian medicinal plants such as Guggulu, Commiphora wightii, the last of which has resulted in the development of Guggulsterone, a steroid claimed to have cholesterol-lowering and nutrient properties.

In 2023, he was honoured by the board of the American Chemical Society for "60 Years of Service Excellence," and his 100th birthday was celebrated with a festschrift published in Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry.