Advancing the Frontier of Chemistry, Biology and Medicine
Chemists have the unique power to make novel molecules and thereby create wonderful tools to understand biological processes and materials properties. As toolmakers we enable ourselves and others to make fundamental discoveries
Professor Seeberger studied chemistry in Erlangen (Germany) and completed a PhD in biochemistry in Boulder (USA). After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Research in New York he advanced to tenured Firmenich Associate Professor of Chemistry at MIT. After six years as Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich he assumed positions as Director at the Max-Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam and Professor at the Free University of Berlin in 2009. In addition, he serves as honorary Professor at the University of Potsdam. From 2003-2014 he was Affiliate Professor at the Sanford-Burnham Institute for Medical Research (La Jolla, USA). Since 2021, he is a Vice President of the German Research Foundation (DFG) the main funding body in Germany. Since 2023, Seeberger is the Founding Director of the “Center for the Transformation of Chemistry” that received €1.25 billion funding. Since 2021, he is a Vice President of the German Research Foundation (DFG) the main funding body in Germany. Since 2023, Seeberger is the Founding Director of the “Center for the Transformation of Chemistry” that received €1.25 billion funding.
Professor Seeberger’s research on the chemistry and biology of carbohydrates, carbohydrate vaccine development and continuous flow synthesis of drug substances spans a broad range of topics from engineering to immunology and has been documented in over 690 peer-reviewed journal articles, five books, more than 60 patent families, over 200 published abstracts and more than 1.0ß0 invited lectures. This work was recognized with more than 40 international awards from the US (e.g. Arthur C. Cope Young Scholar Award 2003, Horace B. Isbell Award 2003, Claude S. Hudson Award 2009 from the American Chemical Society), Germany (e.g. Körber Prize for European Sciences 2007, Wissenschaftspreis des Stifterverbandes 2017), Holland (Havinga Medal), Israel (Honorary Lifetime Member Israel Chemical Society), Japan (Yoshimasa Hirata Gold Medal), Switzerland (“The 100 Most Important Swiss”), the Philippines (Gusi Peace Prize 2018) and international organizations (Whistler Award 2012, Int. Carboh. Soc.). In 2013 he was elected to the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences.
Glycosciences. Peter Seeberger developed the chemical basis for automated glycan assembly, a feat previously deemed impossible (Science 2001, 291, 1523). Over the next two decades he systematically developed a general synthesis of the complex class of biopolymers. Automated glycan assembly was improved to enable the synthesis of polysaccharides as long as 100-mers ( J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2020, 142, 8561) and more difficult cis-glycosidic linkages (Nature Comm. 2016, 7, 12482; J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2021, 143, 9758). Seeberger built in 2008 the first automated glycan synthesizer prototype (now exhibited in Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin). The first commercial instrument (Glyconeer 2.1 by GlycoUniverse) (Proc Nat Acad Sci USA, 2017, 114, E3385) was subsequently improved (Glyconeer 3.1; Device, 2024, 2, 100499) and is now used by laboratories world-wide.
Vaccine Development. Reliable, quick access to defined glycans opened an alternative path to the development of vaccines against a host of pathogens. Until today, glycoconjugate vaccines such as Prevenar 13 against streptococci were produced by growing bacteria and isolating the glycans from their surface. Seeberger showed that glycoconjugates containing short synthetic glycans are able to protect in animal models from many of the most severe bacterial infections (Chem. Rev. 2021, 121, 3598). Several Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes where either no vaccines exist or existing vaccines are insufficient e.g. serotype 8 (Science Transl. Med. 2017, 9, eaaf5347) serotype 2 (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2017, 139, 14783),serotype 5 (Proc Nat Acad Sci USA, 2017, 114, 11063) and serotype 3 (Cell Chem. Bio.2016, 23, 1407) were explored. Glycoepitopes of a host of pathogens were identified and developed into vaccine leads including Klebsiella pneumoniae (Angew.Chem.Int.Ed. 2017, 56, 13973; J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2024, 146, 35356), Acinetobacter baumannii (Angew.Chem.Int.Ed. 2022, 61, e202209556) and Streptococcus suis (Angew.Chem.Int.Ed. 2021, 60, 14679).
Synthetic glycoconjugate vaccine candidates against Clostridium difficile developed in the Seeberger laboratory (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 9713; Chem. Comm. 2013, 49, 7159; Nature Comm. 2016, 7, 11224; ACS Chem. Bio. 2019, 14, 2720) are currently evaluated in human clinical trials by Idorsia that purchased Vaxxilon AG, a MPI spin-off company.
Monoclonal Antibodies as Dignostics and Drugs. Rapid and reliable access to defined carbohydrates enabled Prof. Seeberger to build cell surface glycans of bacteria and parasites to identify epitopes that are recognized by the human immune system and test them in animal models. An antibody against Bacillus anthracis(Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2005, 44, 6315) eventually provided the basis for a diagnostic kit to detect this biowarfare agent (licensed by MiproLab). Anti-glycan antibodies and nanobodies (Cell Chem. Bio. 2022, 29, 1353) against cell surface glycans found on bacteria such as plague (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2013,52, 9524) and cancer cells (ACS Cent. Sci. 2023, 9, 1111) have been developed as research tools and as potential diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Tacalyx, a MPI spin-off company is currently advancing anti-glycan antibodies to human clinical trials for the treatment of cancer.
Diagnostics. The human immune system reacts to the glycans it encounters on bacterial cells, either due to infections or the microbiome. Glycan microarrays containing a variety of synthetic glycans resembling the cell-surface glycans of bacteria ( Proc Nat Acad Sci USA, 2019, 116, 1958) are powerful tools to identify the antibodies present in body fluids such as blood or cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Using these tools, anti-glycan antibodies against bacteria have been identified in the CSF of multiple sclerosis patients have been identified (Science Immunology 2020, 5, eabc7191). Anti-glycan antibodies are diagnostic markers for patients suffering from endometriosis. A start-up company in to address this application is currently being formed.
Synthesis and Medical Use of Artemisinin. The natural product artemisinin. discovered by Nobel Prize winner Tu Youyou, is the active ingredient in the most powerful malaria medications. Prof. Seeberger introduced a continuous photochemical process (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 1706; Chem. Comm. 2014, 50, 12652; Angew.Chem.Int.Ed. 2018, 57, 5525) that is now being scale to multi-ton quantities by the MPI spin-of company ArtemiFlow.
Vaccine Development. Reliable, quick access to defined glycans opened an alternative path to the development of vaccines against a host of pathogens. Until today, glycoconjugate vaccines such as Prevenar 13 against streptococci were produced by growing bacteria and isolating the glycans from their surface. Seeberger showed that glycoconjugates containing short synthetic glycans are able to protect in animal models from many of the most severe bacterial infections (Chem. Rev. 2021, 121, 3598). Several Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes where either no vaccines exist or existing vaccines are insufficient e.g. serotype 8 (Science Transl. Med. 2017, 9, eaaf5347) serotype 2 (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2017, 139, 14783),serotype 5 (Proc Nat Acad Sci USA, 2017, 114, 11063) and serotype 3 (Cell Chem. Bio.2016, 23, 1407) were explored. Glycoepitopes of a host of pathogens were identified and developed into vaccine leads including Klebsiella pneumoniae (Angew.Chem.Int.Ed. 2017, 56, 13973; J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2024, 146, 35356), Acinetobacter baumannii (Angew.Chem.Int.Ed. 2022, 61, e202209556) and Streptococcus suis (Angew.Chem.Int.Ed. 2021, 60, 14679).
Synthetic glycoconjugate vaccine candidates against Clostridium difficile developed in the Seeberger laboratory (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 9713; Chem. Comm. 2013, 49, 7159; Nature Comm. 2016, 7, 11224; ACS Chem. Bio. 2019, 14, 2720) are currently evaluated in human clinical trials by Idorsia that purchased Vaxxilon AG, a MPI spin-off company.
Monoclonal Antibodies as Dignostics and Drugs. Rapid and reliable access to defined carbohydrates enabled Prof. Seeberger to build cell surface glycans of bacteria and parasites to identify epitopes that are recognized by the human immune system and test them in animal models. An antibody against Bacillus anthracis(Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2005, 44, 6315) eventually provided the basis for a diagnostic kit to detect this biowarfare agent (licensed by MiproLab). Anti-glycan antibodies and nanobodies (Cell Chem. Bio. 2022, 29, 1353) against cell surface glycans found on bacteria such as plague (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2013,52, 9524) and cancer cells (ACS Cent. Sci. 2023, 9, 1111) have been developed as research tools and as potential diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Tacalyx, a MPI spin-off company is currently advancing anti-glycan antibodies to human clinical trials for the treatment of cancer.
Diagnostics. The human immune system reacts to the glycans it encounters on bacterial cells, either due to infections or the microbiome. Glycan microarrays containing a variety of synthetic glycans resembling the cell-surface glycans of bacteria ( Proc Nat Acad Sci USA, 2019, 116, 1958) are powerful tools to identify the antibodies present in body fluids such as blood or cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Using these tools, anti-glycan antibodies against bacteria have been identified in the CSF of multiple sclerosis patients have been identified (Science Immunology 2020, 5, eabc7191). Anti-glycan antibodies are diagnostic markers for patients suffering from endometriosis. A start-up company in to address this application is currently being formed.
Synthesis and Medical Use of Artemisinin. The natural product artemisinin. discovered by Nobel Prize winner Tu Youyou, is the active ingredient in the most powerful malaria medications. Prof. Seeberger introduced a continuous photochemical process (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 1706; Chem. Comm. 2014, 50, 12652; Angew.Chem.Int.Ed. 2018, 57, 5525) that is now being scale to multi-ton quantities by the MPI spin-of company ArtemiFlow.
Peter H. Seeberger - Biographical Sketch
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