Basel, 27 January 2003 - The Novartis European Young Investigator Award in Chemistry (NEYIAC) 2002 goes to Prof. Bernhard Breit from the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, Germany, and Prof. Thomas Carell from the Philipps-University in Marburg, Germany. The Award carries an unrestricted research grant of 75 000 CHF for each of the recipients.
Prof. Bernhard Breit receives the Award in recognition of his significant contributions to the development of new catalytic methods in organic synthesis. Prof. Thomas Carell is recognized for his work on model systems for light-dependent enzymes, which has led to an improved understanding of the mechanisms by which these enzymes repair UV-induced DNA damage.
The Awardees will be honored by a public half-day scientific symposium at Novartis in Basel on January 28, 2003. In addition to lectures by Profs. Breit and Carell, the program of the symposium will also include lectures by Prof. François Diederich from the Swiss Federal Institute in Zürich, Switzerland, and Prof. Alois Fürstner from the Max-Planck-Institute for Carbon Research in Mülheim/Ruhr, Germany.
Karl-Heinz Altmann, Global Head of Chemistry of the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, commented: "We were very pleased to see the considerable attention that our award attracted within the scientific community. Novartis is delighted that two of today's most eminent researchers in the area of organic chemistry have agreed to address the award ceremony in addition to the prize winners."
The Novartis European Young Investigator Award in Chemistry was established in 2002, in order to mark Novartis' commitment to scientific excellence and innovation in chemistry as a core discipline in drug discovery and development. The NEYIAC represents an extension of the previous UK Young Investigator Award Program, which had been established in 1998. It is awarded annually to scientists under the age of 40 with research activities in Europe in the areas of organic or bio-organic chemistry. The NEYIAC is a European complement of a broad network of academic support programs Novartis has established in the United States, including a grant program for individual research groups as well as participation in more extensive initiatives, which support whole chemistry departments, e. g. at Caltech and UC Berkley, CA.
Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) is a world leader in pharmaceuticals and consumer health. In 2001, the Group's businesses achieved sales of CHF 32.0 billion (USD 19.1 billion) and a net income of CHF 7.0 billion (USD 4.2 billion). The Group invested approximately CHF 4.2 billion (USD 2.5 billion) in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ about 74 000 people and operate in over 140 countries around the world. For further information please consult http://www.novartis.com.
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