SMR AWARD FOR DRUG DISCOVERY
The Society for Medicines Research believe that outstanding
contributions, achievements and inventions in the world of drug
discovery and development should be recognised and celebrated. To
achieve this goal the SMR instigated its own symbol of recognition,
the SMR Award for Drug Discovery. Recipients are individual
scientists, or teams of scientists, duly acknowledged for their
contribution by the scientific community. The multidisciplinary
nature of the achievement is inherent in this award. With members
from all disciplines of drug research, we are proud to recognise the
successes of others in order to help the individuals and their host
institution gain the reward and acclaim they deserve from within the
pharmaceutical world. There are still very few prizes of this kind
in the drug discovery area and we believe that the multidisciplinary
nature of the SMR adds to the recognition status of this award,
making it significantly different from those awards that recognise
achievements within a single discipline. Until 2001, the Award
recognised only those contributions emanating from within the UK.
With increasing globalisation of R&D and the SMR increasing its
popularity throughout the world by attracting international speakers
at scientific meetings, and through the broadcasting of archive
web-casts of its meetings, this UK-only position was believed to be
unsustainable. Thus, beginning in 2003, the Award was made open to
non-UK scientists.
SMR Award Recipient 2021
The 2021 SMR Award for Drug Discovery was awarded to the collaborative teams at Roche, PTC Therapeutics and the SMA Foundation for the discovery of the drug Evrysdi® (risdiplam).
Dr Hasane Ratni, leader of the Drug Discovery Chemistry program at Roche that discovered risdiplam received the award on behalf of the team and delivered the award lecture ‘Discovery of risdiplam: a medicine for spinal muscular atrophy and the world’s first approved small molecule targeting RNA splicing’ at the online meeting.
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Past recipients of the award:
| 2019 | Dr Andrew Chan MD PhD (Genentech, Inc.) - OCREVUS (ocrelizumab) |
| 2016 | Dr Francis Cuss (Bristol-Myers Squibb) - Opdivo (nivolumab) |
| 2014 | Dr Betty Chang (Pharmacyclics) - Imbruvica (Ibrutinib) |
| 2012 | Dr Peter Mueller (Vertex Pharmaceuticals) - Telaprevir |
| 2009 | Dr Emma Parmee (Merck) - Januvia |
| 2006 | Napoleone Ferrara (Genentech) - Avastin (bevacizumab) |
| 2003 | Dr Juerg Zimmermann, Dr Elisabeth Buchdunger, Dr Ulrike Pfaar, Dr Peter Graf, Dr John Ford and Dr Renaud Capdeville (Novartis) - Glivec (imatinib) |
| 2001 | Dr Michael Cawthorne, Dr Stephen Smith, Dr Barrie Cantello, Mr Richard Hindley and Dr David Haigh (GlaxoSmithKline) - Rosiglitazone (Avandia) |
| 1999 | Dr David Tupper, Mr Terence Hotten and Dr Nicholas Moore (Eli Lilly) - Olanzapine |
| 1997 | Drs Duncan, Redshaw and Roberts (Roche) - Saquinavir |
| 1995 | Prof Pat Humphrey (Glaxo) - Sumatriptan |
| 1993 | Dr Ken Richardson (Pfizer) - Fluconazole |
| 1991 | Drs Dutta, Furr and Hutchinson (ICI) - Zoladex |
| 1987 | Prof John Stenlake (University of Strathclyde) - Atracurium |
| 1985 | Dr David Jack (Glaxo) - Salbutamol |
| 1983 | Mr Peter Doyle (Beecham) - Augmentin |
