Professor Peter G. Schultz receives the 2023 Scheele Award

Professor Peter G. Schultz, the 2023 Scheele Laureate

The 2023 Scheele Laureate is Professor Peter G. Schultz, CEO and the Scripps Family Chair Professor of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla. Two existing medicines and several in the pipeline are examples of outcomes of his work, which spans over several decades and has had significant importance for both the scientific community and patients. 

The 51st Scheele Award goes to the American scientist Professor Peter G. Schultz, who is awarded the prize for his scientific achievements in the interface between chemistry, biology and medicine.

— I am delighted to receive this award – it underscores my incredibly good fortune to work with so many outstanding people throughout my career, says Professor Schultz.

Through his work within chemistry and synthetic biology he has opened new opportunities for the creation of molecules and study of biological systems. He has also mentored and supported numerous young scientists throughout his carrier, several of which are current holders of senior positions at research institutes and companies.

— What makes Professor Peter G. Schultz a very worthy recipient of the Scheele award is that, in addition to his own groundbreaking scientific achievements as a pioneer in the fields of drug discovery and chemical and synthetic biology, he has also developed pioneering, enabling technologies which have formed the foundation for innovation and discoveries by other scientists globally. His own research and scientific leadership have resulted in two cancer drugs reaching the market and several more drugs in clinical development, with the potential to impact the lives of many more patients. Professor Schultz’s achievements resonate well with the legacy of Carl Wilhelm Scheele, says Robert Kronqvist, CEO of The Swedish Pharmaceutical Society.

In connection with the award ceremony in Stockholm, on November 9th 2023, there will be an opportunity to attend a symposium arranged in the honor of the laureate. 

Peter Schultz is rewarded for:

Peter Schultz’s research, teaching and entrepreneurial efforts have had a major impact on human health, the ability of chemists to synthesize molecules to meet the medical challenges of the future, and the direction of modern chemistry.

Schultz is one of the pioneers in the field of chemical and synthetic biology, introducing unnatural amino acids as an important tool to study biology. His basic science and discoveries have been instrumental in the development of combinatorial chemistry and large-scale phenotypic screening methodologies, fundamental to generating biological data of high relevance.

The techniques pioneered by Schultz have transformed the development of innovative new medicines globally. This is exemplified by recent research from Schultz’s own lab, enabling translation of new classes of drugs that affect endogenous stem cells for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

The Scheele Award

The Swedish Pharmaceutical Society has since 1961 bestowed the Scheele Award on prominent scientists in the field of drug research or related disciplines, in honor of the world-renowned Swedish chemist and pharmacist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. The prize consists of a medal, a personal diploma and SEK 250 000.