Professor Richard B. Silverman has been awarded the 2026 IUPAC-Richter Prize in Medicinal Chemistry. Silverman is the Patrick G. Ryan/Aon Professor at the Department of Chemistry of Northwestern University, United States. The 2026 IUPAC-Richter Prize recognized his transformative and sustained contributions to medicinal chemistry that have fundamentally reshaped both scientific understanding and patient care. He is the inventor of pregabalin (Lyrica®), one of the most successful university-originated drugs in history, which has alleviated suffering for millions of patients worldwide and stands as a landmark achievement in academic drug discovery. Beyond this singular accomplishment, Professor Silverman has repeatedly translated deep mechanistic insight into clinically advanced therapeutics, including CPP-115 and OV329 for epilepsy and neuropathic pain, and AKV9 (formerly NU-9) for ALS and Alzheimer’s disease, each arising from elegant physical-organic and enzymological principles and progressing to human clinical trials. His pioneering work on selective neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitors has opened new therapeutic avenues for neurodegeneration, melanoma, and infectious disease, while his innovations targeting ornithine aminotransferase represent a novel strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma. Complementing these discoveries, Professor Silverman has trained generations of medicinal chemists worldwide through his definitive textbook The Organic Chemistry of Drug Design and Drug Action and an extraordinary academic career marked by global recognition, including election to the National Academy of Sciences and numerous international prizes. Taken together, his career exemplifies the highest ideals of medicinal chemistry: rigorous fundamental science, creative molecular design, and tangible benefit to humanity, making him an outstanding candidate for the highest level of international distinction.
This year marks the eleventh occasion of the IUPAC-Richter Prize, which was established in 2005 by the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) and Gedeon Richter PLC. Awarded biannually, the awardee is announced by the IUPAC following nominations and the decision of an independent international selection committee. The lecture in which the prize is awarded occurs alternatively in Europe and in the United States. The awardee receives a prize of $ 10.000, which is sponsored by Richter PLC, and a plaque, which presented by IUPAC.
The acceptance lecture will be held in Atlanta, GA, United States at the 39th National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium(May 31-June 3, 2026). A lecture will also be presented at the forthcoming EFMC International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry in Basel, Switzerland (September 6-10, 2026).
The previous awardees are: 2006: Malcolm FG Stevens (UK), 2008: Jan Heeres (Belgium), 2010: Arun Ghosh (USA), 2012: Stephen Hanessian (Canada), 2014: Helmut Buschmann (Germany), 2016: Michael Sofia (USA), 2018: Peter Grotenhuis (USA), 2020: John Macor (USA), 2022: Michael E. Jung (USA), 2024: Craig M. Crews (USA)
Release to be published in Chem Int Apr 2026
Link to originating Call for Nominations