The GDCh-division “Medical Chemistry”, inaugurated in 1971, consists of around 850 members who work in university institutes, other research institutes and in the pharmaceutical industry. These members are mostly chemists and pharmacists but also include computer scientists, process engineers, among others. This division aims to bridge chemistry, biology, medicine and pharmacy. It deals with interdisciplinary work on addressing questions of modern drug development, in particular, drug discovery, lead optimization by incorporating modern technologies such as combinatorial synthesis, high-throughput screening systems based on molecular biological fundamentals, drug design, molecular modeling, quantitative structure-activity analyses, pharmacokinetics and metabolism. Medical Chemistry describes a modern multidisciplinary research area. It exploits the newest scientific knowledge of biology and chemistry for the targeted production of active ingredients and, thus, decisively contributes towards the development of innovative drugs.

Aims

The division cultivates the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and promotes the discipline of medical chemistry in Germany— as opposed to other countries where it is not established as a part of university curriculum— in particular, by:

·       Organizing conferences and continuing education courses, also jointly with the GDCh-division Biochemistry, the German Pharmaceutical Society and the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC);

·        Promoting the cooperation among the divisions of the GDCh and the German Pharmaceutical Society as well as between academia and the pharmaceutical industry;

·        Advancing and supporting academic young scientists and ensuring their further
professional education by:

o    Sponsoring continuing education events, awarding stipends for their participation at division conferences and symposia;

o    Conferring a prize for younger scientists for special innovations in the field of medical chemistry, together with the German Pharmaceutical Society division “Pharmaceutical Chemistry”.

The GDCh-division Medical Chemistry supports a good education of German students of chemistry and pharmacy by maintaining Germany as a pharmaceutical research location. Together with the German Pharmaceutical Society, the Medical Chemistry division is publisher of the oldest German chemical expert journal “Archives of Pharmacy”.

The division informs about the field of medical chemistry through press releases, contributions in “News from Chemistry” (“Nachrichten aus der Chemie”) as well as through member notifications sent semi-annually.

Executive Board

Chair
Dr. Karl-Heinz Baringhaus, Sanofi-Aventis, Frankfurt am Main

Vice Chair

Prof. Dr. Christa Müller, University of Bonn

Board Members
Dr. Horst Dollinger, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach
Prof. Dr. Markus Kalesse, University of Hannover
Prof. Dr. Stefan Laufer, University of Tübingen
Dr. Franz von Nussbaum, Bayer HealthCare AG, Berlin