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.

EFMC Prize for a Young Medicinal Chemist in Industry
The Selection Committee is very pleased to communicate that after all the votes were added, the winner of the EFMC Prize for a Young Medicinal Chemist in Industry and two close followers are emerged.

Dr Antonio Nardi, Grünenthal, Germany
Dr Tim Jonckers, Tibotec, Belgium
Dr Michael Waring, AstraZeneca, UK

“The EFMC Prize for Young Medicinal Chemist in Industry” was initiated by the EFMC Industrial Liaison Committee to acknowledge and recognize an outstanding young medicinal chemist (<35 years old) working in industry within Europe. The Prize is given annually and consists of a diploma, € 1.000 and an invitation for a short presentation at an EFMC symposium. Two runners-up are also identified and acknowledged.

EFMC Prize for a Young Medicinal Chemist in Academia
The Selection Committee is proud to announce the names of the winner and the runners-up of the EFMC Prize for a Young Medicinal Chemist in Academia.

Dr Andreas Bender, Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research, The Netherlands
Dr Pieter Van der Veken, Flemish Fund for Scientific Research and University of Antwerp, Belgium
Dr Alessio Lodola, Università di Parma, Italy

“The EFMC Prize for Young Medicinal Chemist in Academia” was established by the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC) to acknowledge and recognize an outstanding young medicinal chemist (<35 years old) working in academia within Europe. The Prize is given annually and consists of a diploma, € 1.000 and an invitation for a short presentation at an EFMC symposium. Two runners-up are also identified and acknowledged.

The 2010 IUPAC-Richter Prize  has been awarded to Dr. Arun K Ghosh, Ian P. Rothwell Distinguished Professor at Purdue University.

Dr. Ghosh received this award in recognition of his outstanding use of structure-based design of HIV-1 protease inhibitors using his novel concept of “backbone binding” to withstand drug resistance. This work produced the novel drug darunavir which was approved by the FDA in 2006 as the first treatment for multidrug resistant HIV. He has also pioneered structure- based design of ²-secretase inhibitors for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. One such compound has now entered into advanced clinical trials.

The Prize (USD 10 000) has been established by a generous gift from the Chemical Works of Gedeon Richter, Plc.  (Budapest, Hungary) to acknowledge the key role that medicinal chemistry plays toward improving human health.