Eredoctoraat P. Couvreur

Prof. dr. Patrick Couvreur

doctor honoris causa Ghent University 2018

Promotor: prof. dr. Stefaan De Smedt

Nanomedicine(s): where do we come from, where do we go to?

Professor Patrick Couvreur (1950, Belgium) is a pharmacist, full professor at the Paris-Sud University

and chair of ‘Innovations Technologiques’ at the prestigious Collège de France.

His contributions to the field of drug delivery, nanomedicines and drug targeting are highly recognized around the world.

Patrick Couvreur performed pioneering work and first demonstrated in the late seventies that nanoparticles may be used as intracellular carriers for compounds (like biotechnological drugs) which do not diffuse spontaneously into cells. Through these observations he invented the field of ‘nanomedicines’.

He explored the potential of nanomedicines for the targeting of chemotherapeutics to cancer tissues. He founded the companies BioAlliance (now ONXEO) and Medsqual to translate his experiments into drugs. His career achievements have demonstrated

Patrick Couvreur’s ability to go far beyond the state of the art. Shaping up the future in his field, professor Couvreur’s pioneering real interdisciplinary work is carried on with clear vision, communicative enthusiasm and leadership, and is a source of inspiration for young scientists.