Patrick Couvreur, born 1950 in

Schaerbeek (French language, French and History of Dutch orthography, archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Re ...

(

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

),Académie royale de Médecine de Belgique
/ref> is a French

pharmacologist Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

who specialises in medical

nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...

and is currently professor at the

University of Paris-Sud Paris-Sud University (French: ''Université Paris-Sud''), also known as University of Paris — XI (or as Université d'Orsay before 1971), was a French research university distributed among several campuses in the southern suburbs of Paris, in ...

. Couvreur was elected as a member into the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

in 2015 for advances in nanomedicine and commercialization of targeted nanotechnology systems for cancer treatment.

Biography

Patrick Couvreur obtained his Candidature in

pharmaceutical science Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links healt ...

in 1969, at the

University of Namur A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

,Patrick Couvreur, pionnier en nanomédecine (UNamur

followed by a diploma in

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

in 1972, at the

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

(UCL). He received a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in pharmaceutical science in 1975 from the same university, where he worked in the laboratory next door to the Belgian Nobel Prize winner,

Christian de Duve Christian René Marie Joseph, Viscount de Duve (2 October 1917 – 4 May 2013) was a Nobel Prize-winning Belgian cytologist and biochemist. He made serendipitous discoveries of two cell organelles, peroxisome and lysosome, for which he shared ...

, who was an inspiration for his subsequent career.Financial Times, 28 May 2013
/ref> From 1976 to 1977 he was a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

, before joining the Catholic University of Louvain, first as a senior research assistant, and then as a senior researcher. In 1984 he was appointed to a professorship at the Institut Galien Paris Sud (

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...

).France Info, 14 septembre 2012 In 2009–2010, he held the Liliane Bettencourt Chair of Technological Innovation at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment (''grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris ne ...

. He has three children and several grandchildren.

Principal achievements

Patrick Couvreur is known for his work in the field of drug vectorization for the treatment of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. In 1997 he founded BioAlliance, a company that employs more than 60 people. In 2007, he founded Medsqual, a start-up that seeks to develop

nanomedicine Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials and BioBrick, biological devices, to Nanoelectronics, nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applicatio ...

s based on

squalene Squalene is an organic compound. It is a triterpenoid with the formula C30H50. It is a colourless oil, although impure samples appear yellow. It was originally obtained from shark liver oil (hence its name, as ''Squalus'' is a genus of sharks). A ...

Prizes and distinctions

Patrick Couvreur was awarded the Prix Galien in 2009 for his work on "squalenization", a significant advance in drug vectorization that involves coupling an

active ingredient An active ingredient is any ingredient that provides biologically active or other direct effect in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease or to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or animals. T ...

with

. In the same year he received 2,2 million euros of funding from the

European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...

(ERC). On 20 June 2012, he shared the

Innovation Medal with Alain Benoit and

José-Alain Sahel José-Alain Sahel is a French ophthalmologist and scientist. He is currently the chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, director of the UPMC Eye Center, and the Eye and Ear Foundation Chair ...

. In 2013 Patrick Couvreur was awarded the

European Inventor Award The European Inventor Award(formerly European Inventor of the Year Award, renamed in 2010), are presented annually by the European Patent Office, sometimes supported by the respective Presidency of the Council of the European Union and by the Eur ...

for his work on nanocapsules for cancer treatment. Patrick Couvreur is a member of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...

, the

French Academy of Technologies The National Academy of Technologies of France (''Académie des technologies'') is a learned society, founded in 2000, with an emphasis on technology, and the newest of French academies. In 2007 it acquired the status of ''établissement public'', w ...

the

Académie Nationale de Médecine Situated at 16 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the Académie nationale de médecine (National Academy of Medicine) was created in 1820 by King Louis XVIII at the urging of baron Antoine Portal. At its inception, the instituti ...

and the Académie de Pharmacie. He is also a foreign member of the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, En ...

(USA), the

(USA), the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine and the

Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia The Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia (Spanish: ''Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia'') is located in Madrid, Spain. It was declared ''Bien de Interés Cultural A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The t ...

(Spain). On 31 December 2017, he was appointed a Chevalier of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. In 2019, he received the

Journal of Drug Targeting ''Journal of Drug Targeting'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal published by Informa that covers research on all aspects of drug delivery and drug targeting for molecular and macromolecular drugs. The editor in chief is Saghir Akhtar (College ...

’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Notes and references

External links

* Portrait of an innovator: Patrick Couvreur develops nanotechnologies for delivering therapeutic drugs to specific areas of the bod

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Courvreur, Patrick Living people 1950 births French pharmacologists Université catholique de Louvain alumni Université de Namur alumni Academic staff of Paris-Saclay University Scientists from Brussels Members of the National Academy of Medicine