Ingelheim, Germany, 8 November 2002 - The Heinrich Wieland Prize worth EUR 25,000 was awarded to Prof. Stephen O`Rahilly from the Departments of Medicine and Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, on 8 November 2002. The award ceremony took place at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany.

Prof. Dieter Hinzen, head of Boehringer Ingelheim’s largest research and development center at Biberach, Germany, says: "This prize reflects our special relationship to Heinrich Wieland, who laid the foundations for Boehringer Ingelheim’s pharmaceutical research. The Heinrich Wieland Prize emphasises our commitment to scientific progress in research into metabolic diseases that leads to the development of innovative therapies.”

Prof. O’Rahilly conducts research into the molecular mechanisms in obesity and type II diabetes. His scientific achievements have mainly contributed to understanding the genetic causes of human obesity and insulin resistance. “This renowned award gives fresh recognition to the importance of research into obesity and diabetes - two of the world’s fastest-growing diseases, “ Prof. O’Rahilly said.

His work has illuminated the importance of several key regulatory molecules including leptin, the melanocortin 4 receptor and the nuclear receptor PPAR gamma to human physiology and metabolic disease.

The Heinrich Wieland Prize has been awarded annually since 1963 for scientific work in the fields of biochemistry, chemistry and physiology of fats and lipids and their clinical importance. This well-known international science award has gone to a total of 53 researchers. Boehringer Ingelheim has been responsible for this prize since 2001. The award is named after the German chemist and Nobel prize winner Prof. Heinrich Otto Wieland (1877 – 1957), a cousin of Boehringer Ingelheim‘s founder Albert Boehringer. Boehringer Ingelheim today has five research centers worldwide employing 4,500 scientists and related specialists.