The Deutscher Zukunfts-preis 2009 has been awarded to a team of researchers from Bayer.
Frank Misselwitz, Elisabeth Perzborn and Dagmar Kubitza received the prize for achievements in technology and innovation from the German Federal President Horst Koehler in Berlin. They were honoured for the development of the anticoagulant drug rivaroxaban (Xarelto).
Werner Wenning, chairman of Bayer's board of management, said the award demonstrated the significance of research and innovation at Bayer. "It puts the spotlight on science. In doing so, it ensures that the potential of science, technology and medicine become more firmly anchored in the public consciousness," he added.
The three Bayer researchers and their teams have developed rivaroxaban for the treatment of thromboembolism, a disease that affects millions of people every year, often with a fatal outcome.
Rivaroxaban is an anticoagulant that selectively targets a pivotal stage in the blood clotting process and inhibits the activated enzyme Factor X, which plays a key role in the development of thrombosis.
An advantage of rivaroxaban is that it is administered in tablet form and does not have to be injected like the current standard therapies.