EFMC Awards

To acknowledge outstanding achievements in the field of Medicinal Chemistry, EFMC is conferring every two years three Awards on the occasion of the International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry. The Selection Committees of the EFMC Awards, chaired by the EFMC President, Gerhard Ecker, have now announced the names of the winners of the 2010 Awards.

The Nauta Award for Pharmacochemistry

Prof Camille George Wermuth, University Louis Pasteur Strasbourg and Prestwick Chemicals

for his significant contribution to the science of medicinal chemistry, both by scientific achievements and by educational activities. Prof. Wermuth contributed to the development of three marketed drugs and the results of his work are documented in more than 250 publications and 60 patents. He has also significantly contributed to the advancement of education in medicinal chemistry by his famous textbook “The Practice of Medicinal Chemistry”. This award also recognises the engagement of Prof. Wermuth in promoting Medicinal Chemistry in Europe by organizing several symposia and through his active role in learned societies.

The UCB-Ehrlich Award for Excellence in Medicinal Chemistry

Dr. Anthony Wood, Pfizer Global Research and Development

for his instrumental role in the discovery of Maraviroc, the first small molecule antagonist of the CCR5 receptor marketed for the therapy of HIV infections. Maraviroc represents the first successful advancement of a chemokine receptor modulator to the market and for the first time provided an antiviral therapy that targets a host protein rather than a viral protein.

The Prous Institute-Overton and Meyer Award for New Technologies in Drug Discovery

Prof Klaus Müller, ETH Zürich

for his pioneering work in the field of computer assisted molecular modeling and for his seminal contributions to the understanding of multipolar interactions and fluorine effects in protein-ligand interactions. Prof. Müller has been instrumental in implementing and further developing computational techniques for use in the drug discovery and development process both through his leading role in pharmaceutical industry and his teaching activities in academia.