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The Rottendorf Foundation
health care
Science Awards
Rottendorf Awards for Pharmacy/Pharmacology 2025
The national prize for 2025 goes to:
Dr Lukas Ernst from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology at the Technical University of Braunschweig
and the international prize goes to:
Dr Lennart Brewit from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford
The award ceremony took place on 21 October 2025 at the House of Sciences in Braunschweig.
From left to right: Carl Pinnekamp (Foundation Board of Trustees), P. Martin Löwenstein SJ (Chairman of the Foundation Board of Trustees), P. Johann Spermann (Foundation Executive Board), Dr Brewitz and Dr Ernst (award winners), Hermann-Ulrich Viskorf (Chairman of the Foundation Executive Board), Rainald Gehringhoff (Foundation Board of Trustees) and Dr Lilian Klewitz-Haas (Foundation Executive Board)
In 2024, Dr Lukas Ernst presented a paper on plant-based medicinal substances with complex chemical structures that are difficult to isolate and synthesise, focusing on the biosynthesis of complicated ingredients in St John’s wort. Dr Ernst succeeded in identifying a key reaction that, in two variations, contributes significantly to the complexity and diversity of the ingredients. The enzymes involved are now available for the reconstruction of plant biosynthesis pathways in microorganisms.”
Dr Lukas Ernst
Dr Lennart Brewitz’s work focuses primarily on investigating the therapeutic and diagnostic potential, functions, mechanisms and structures of disease-relevant human and viral enzymes that catalyse post-translational protein modifications. Through his work in the field of medicinal chemistry and biochemistry of these enzymes, including the development of highly potent inhibitors, Dr Lennart Brewitz has made outstanding contributions in recent years that will be of crucial importance for the development of new drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases and cancer.”
Dr Lennart Brewitz
From left to right: P. Spermann SJ, Dr Ernst, Dr Brewitz and Hermann-Ulrich Viskorf
Andreas Josef Rottendorf founded a chemical-pharmaceutical company in Berlin in 1928, where his wife Rose also worked for many years and played a major role in the company’s success after the war. Pharmacy and its far from exhausted potential were both their passion and their entrepreneurial vocation. Accordingly, they also committed their foundation to promoting research in the fields of pharmacology and pharmacy.
Currently, there are two formats for this:
Science Prizes
In accordance with its statutes, the foundation provides funds at least every second year for prize competitions to be held by a university. The prize is to be awarded to the best paper written by a student or lecturer at the university to which the prize is made available.
Since 1995, there has also been a European Prize.
2021 Düsseldorf Award for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry to Jun.-Prof. Dr. Jonathan Cramer, HHU Düsseldorf;
Europe Prize for Pharmacy: Prof. Dr. Valérie Vanhoorne from the Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology at Ghent University.
Past award winners:
- 1977 Essen, Preis für Pharmakologie: Dr. rer. nat. Otto-Erich Brodde, Senden, Prof. Dr. med. Joachim Wagner, Düsseldorf
- 1979 Bonn Preis für Pharmazie: Priv. Doz. Richard Süverkrüp, Bornheim
- 1981 Köln Preis für Pharmakologie: Dr. med. Gerh. Heimann, Köln
- 1983 Münster Preis für Pharmazie: Dr. rer. nat. Hartmut Derendorf, Apotheker Jürgen Maibaum
- 1985 Düsseldorf Preis für Pharmakologie: Dr. D. Hafner, Prof. Dr. U. Borchard
- 1987 Bonn Preis für Pharmazie: Dr. Leimann Sutanto, Bonn
- 1989 Köln Preis für Pharmakologie: Dr. Stefan Dhein
- 1991 Münster Preis für Pharmazie: Dr. rer. nat. Dirk Schrader, Hamburg
- 1993 Bonn Preis für Pharmakologie: Dr. Gerhard Moldering, Dr. Klaus Fink, Prof. Dr. Eberhard Schlicker
Europa-Preis: Dr. Lisa Giovanelli, Universität Florenz - 1995 Münster Preis für Pharmazie: Dr. habil. rer. nat. Gerhard Scriba, Münster
Europa-Preis: Dr. Gilles Ponchel, Paris - 1997 Mainz Preis für Pharmakologie: Prof. Dr. Dr. Ernst Mütschler, Dr. Ragip Ziyal, Prof. Dr. Günter Lambrecht, Prof. Dr. Dieter Nickel, Guildo Müller
Europa-Preis: Dr. Adriaan Peter Fjzermann - 1999 Düsseldorf Preis für Pharmazie: Dr. Wolfgang Sippl, Universität Düsseldorf
Europa-Preis: Kriestien de Paepe, Vrije Universität Brüssel, Belgien - 2001 Bochum Preis für Pharmakologie: Dr. Andreas Friebe, Universität Bochum
Europa-Preis: PB Ramiro Jover Atienza, Universidad de Valencia, Spanien - 2003 München Preis für Pharmakologie: Dr. Andreas Ludwig, Universität München
Europa-Preis: Dr. Maclej Baginski, Universität Gdansk, Polen - 2005 Münster Preis für Pharmazie: Dr. Rotraut Stephanie Müller, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Europa-Preis: Dr. Sophie Durieux-Poissonnier, Université du Lille, Frankreich - 2007 Bonn Preis für Pharmazie: PD Dr. Daniela Gündisch, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Europa-Preis: Dr. Anne des Rieux, Université chatholique de Louvain, Bruxelles, Belgien - 2009 Düsseldorf Preis für Pharmazie: Dr. Markus Thommes, Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf
Europa-Preis: Dr. Magali Zeisser-Labouébe, Université de Genève, Schweiz - 2011 Bonn Preis für Pharmakologie: Dr. Ana Kilić, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Europa-Preis: Dr. Frank Christian, University of Glasgow, Schottland - 2013 Münster Preis für Pharmazie: Dr. Ralph Holl, Westfälische Wilhelms- Universität Münster
Europa-Preis: Dr. Gregor Fuhrmann, ETH Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Schweiz - 2015 Köln Preis für Pharmakologie: Dr. Markus Pietsch, Universität zu Köln
Europa-Preis: Dr. Morten Skott Thomsen, Copenhagen University, Dänemark - 2019 Aachen Preis für Pharmakologie und Pharmazie: Dr. rer. nat. Sonja Djudjaj , Westfälische Hochschule Aachen, Dr. Yang Shi, University Utrecht
- 2021 Düsseldorf Preis für Pharmazeutische und Medizinische Chemie an Jun.-Prof. Dr. Jonathan Cramer, HHU Düsseldorf
Europa-Preis für Pharmazie: Prof. Dr. Valérie Vanhoorne vom Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology der Universität Gent - 2023 Münster National prize awarded to Prof. Dr. Louisa Temme, Institute of Pharmacy, Department of Chemistry, University of Hamburg | International prize awarded to Asst. Prof. Dr. Willem Jespers, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Leiden University, Netherlands
Rottendorf Chair at the University of Münster
Rottendorf Foundation establishes endowed professorship at the University of Münster
The Rottendorf Foundation has been funding an endowed professorship for “Pharmaceutical Technology” at the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Münster since 2023. The endowed professorship is based at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy and is to be converted into an endowed chair after six years. The research focus is on the simulation and modeling of the production of solid dosage forms – such as tablets, capsules or coated tablets. This field of research includes process technologies in the areas of granulation, tableting, mixing and film coating.
Rottendorf Foundation establishes endowed professorship at University of Münster
The Rottendorf Foundation has been funding an endowed professorship in “Pharmaceutical Technology” at the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the Westphalian (WWU) Münster since 2023. The endowed professorship is located at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy and will be converted into an endowed chair after six years. The research focus is on the simulation and modeling of the production of solid dosage forms – such as tablets, capsules or coated tablets. This research area includes process technologies in the fields of granulation, tableting, mixing and filming.
Photos: Thomas Mohn
Project funding
2022: AppO-Mobile Project: Expansion of a “Center of Excellence for Simulation and Digital Health in the Clinical Pharmacy for Digital and Practice-Oriented Training of Young Professionals” at the Institute of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacotherapy, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
2020: Funding of an exploratory R&D project at the Institute for Life Science Technologies (ILT.NRW) of the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences.
2020: Grant for the expansion of apparative equipment (pelletizing system) in the field of pharmaceutical technology, Westfälische-Wilhelms-Universität.