The biennial €75,000 prize now targets internationally renowned scientists and is complemented by a new €25,000 award for early career researchers.

Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh – German Chemical Society) has announced changes to one of Europe’s most prestigious prizes in medicinal chemistry, alongside the launch of a new award to support emerging talent. The biennial Klaus Grohe Prize (Klaus-Grohe-Preis), first presented in 2020, recognises research that demonstrates creativity and excellence in developing novel principles in medicinal chemistry or drug discovery. The awardee’s research results must clearly indicate future applications. Supported by the Klaus Grohe Foundation, the prize now focuses on senior researchers who are nationally and internationally renowned for their contributions. The award carries a prize of €75,000 and will be conferred during the International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry of the European Federation of Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC-ISMC), taking place from 6 to 10 September 2026 in Basel, Switzerland. The award winner will also be invited to deliver a lecture on their scientific work at the conference.

To complement this shift, GDCh has introduced the Klaus Grohe Young Scientist Award for Medicinal Chemistry (Klaus-Grohe-Förderpreis). This new award supports early career scientists at European research institutions who currently lead an independent research group or have taken up a W2 professorship in Germany or an equivalent position elsewhere in Europe within the past 12 months. The award is endowed with €25,000, intended exclusively for research purposes, particularly to fund personnel resources.