European award for medicinal chemists: New active ingredients for the treatment of infections

Martin Empting works towards the development of new active substances that can be used to treat bacterial and viral infections. He has now been awarded the Young Medicinal Chemist in Academia Prize by the European Federation of Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC) as a runner-up. This prize is aimed at young chemists who are pursuing a career in academic research. 

Martin Empting is a professor at Saarland University and group leader at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS). Empting uses innovative medicinal chemistry approaches to develop drug candidates that act on specific targets of pathogens. The focus is on substances that do not kill the bacterial pathogens, but rather eliminate their pathogenic properties. These are called pathoblockers. In doing so, the Saarbrücken researcher hopes to override widespread resistance mechanisms and create new treatment options. In addition, Empting's working group is looking into new mechanisms for active substances against chronic and acute viral infections.

After Alexander Titz (2018) and Anna Hirsch (2021, runner-up), Martin Empting is the third researcher from Saarland University and HIPS to be awarded the Medicinal Chemist in Academia Prize of the EFMC. The award was presented at the 28th International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry on September 4 in Rome. 

Martin Empting completed his doctorate at the Technical University of Darmstadt in 2012. After a three-year period as a postdoc under the supervision of Rolf Hartmann at HIPS, Empting habilitated in “Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry” in 2022 and became head of the “Antiviral and Antivirulence Agents” research group. In March 2024, Empting was jointly appointed Professor of Medicinal Chemistry of Anti-Infectives by the University and HIPS. The HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University.

Martin Empting is also involved in the nextAID³ initiative on the topic of “Next generation of Al-driven drug discovery and development”, with which Saarland University, together with several research institutes, is applying for a cluster of excellence.

Further Information:

Research Prizes of the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC)

Cluster of excellence initiative nextAID³: https://www.uni-saarland.de/forschen/nextaid3.html

Research Group of Martin Empting: https://www.helmholtz-hips.de/de/forschung/teams/team/antivirale-und-antivirulenzwirkstoffe/

Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland:

The Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) in Saarbrücken was founded jointly by the HZI and Saarland University in 2009. Scientists at HIPS develop and employ experimental and computational approaches to provide new active substances against infectious diseases, optimise them for use in humans and investigate how they can best be transported to their site of action in the human body. A special focus of the institute is on microbial natural products from soil bacteria and the human microbiota as well as innovative medicinal chemistry-driven approaches. www.helmholtz-hips.de

Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research:

Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and other locations in Germany study bacterial and viral infections and the body's defence mechanisms. They have in-depth expertise in natural product research and its use as a valuable source for novel anti-infectives. As a member of the Helmholtz Association and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the HZI conducts translational research to lay the foundations for the development of novel therapies and vaccines against infectious diseases. www.helmholtz-hzi.de