Editorial Obituary

Professor Pierre Potier, member of the Advisory Board of Planta Medica, died on February 3, 2006, at age 72.

Pierre Potier has been an eminent and highly successful natural products and medicinal chemist. He studied pharmacy at the University of Paris and obtained a PhD in physics. Very early on, he became interested in natural products, and the major part of his scientific career was at the Institut de la Chimie des Substances Naturelles at Gif-sur-Yvette near Paris. Under his direction, the institute was to become one of the most respected centers for natural products research. The focus of Pierre Potier’s research was at the interface of chemistry, biology and pharmacology of natural products and is documented by some 400 research publications and numerous patents. His interest in the synthesis of complex natural products led to the discovery of new reactions of high practical value. A first important achievement was an efficient synthesis of bis-indole alkaloids. The synthetic route found by the Potier group paved the way for a large-scale preparation of the anticancer drug vinblastine. He then used the modified Polonovski reaction to synthesize seco- and nor-bis-indoles. One of the compounds, 5′-nor-anhydrovinblastine was later developed to an anticancer drug. In the mid-1980, following the isolation of 10-desacetyl bacchatine III from leaves of Taxus baccata, he proposed the first semi-synthesis of taxol and the synthesis of taxanes with a modified side chain and increased potency. One of these compounds was later also developed to a clinically used anticancer drug.

Pierre Potier was a strong advocate for effective partnerships between academic research and industry, and he was effective in translating fundamental science to practical inventions. There are few scientists like him who can claim to be responsible for the discovery of two successful drugs. The two anticancer agents Navelbine and Taxotere which were developed by Pierre Fabre Laboratories and by Rhône-Poulenc Rorer (now Sanofi-Aventis), respectively, generate worldwide annual sales of over 1.5 billion E.

Pierre Potier served on the boards of numerous scientific organizations and charities. He was a consulting member of UNESCO and, from 1994 to 1996, Director-general for all public research organisms at the French Ministry of Education and Research. He received numerous awards for his outstanding scientific achievements, such as the Ernst Guenther award of the American Chemical Society, the gold medal of the CNRS, and the Prix Galien, to name just three. He was Laureate of the French Chemical Society and the Royal Chemical Society, London. For his contribution to French science, he was appointed Officer of the Légion d’Honneur and Commander in the Ordre National du Mérite.

Matthias Hamburger, Basel

Professor Pierre Potier (1934 - 2006)