Søren Brøgger Christensen

Born August 19, 1947

Education

Graduated from the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences: 1971
Lic.pharm. (Ph.D.) from the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences: 1975 

• Lektor (associate professor) at the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences: 1976
• Fellowship at the National Cancer Centre, Tokyo: May 1986
• Fellowship at the German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg: Nov. 1990
• Docent (reader) at the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences: 1991
• Censor (officially appointed censor) at the Technical University, Denmark: 1991 - present and at Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University.
• MSO Professor at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Copenhagen: Dec. 2008

Memberships

Member of The Danish Academy of Natural Sciences 1991.

Chairman of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences: 1992 - 1995

Awards

Recipient of The H. C. Ørsted Award, June 1971.

Publications

Author or coauthor on 147 articles in international scientific journals, coeditor on 2 books and coinventor on 7 patents.

In 1975 S. Brøgger Christensen (SBC) initiated work on natural products chemistry with emphasis on biologically active natural products. In 1978 the first paper on the SERCA inhibitor thapsigargin, which has become a standard tool for studies on calcium homeostasis, was published. Since 1978 SBC have been engaged in isolation, structure elucidation and biological evaluation of thapsigargin and naturally occurring analogues of thapsigargin and in systematic semisynthetic changes of thapsigargin in order to elucidate the structure activity relationships. In 1988 SBC published the generally accepted structure of thapsigargin. Presently prodrugs of thapsigargin are prepared in order to develop drugs for treatment of prostate cancer. Analogues with high affinity for the thapsigargin binding site on the Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum ATPase have been designed and synthesized.

In 1989/90 SBC extended his studies to enclose natural products usable for treatment of tropical diseases. A number of molluscicidal coumarins and saponins have been isolated and structure elucidated. Some antiparasitic chalcones have been isolated. Analogues are prepared and medicinal chemical studies are undertaken to optimise the antiparasitic activities. The work on chalcones formed a part of the intellectual properties behind the formation of the biotechnological company Lica Pharmaceuticals A/S. Neolignans have been synthesized and tested for antiplasmodial acitivities.

Studies on rose hips (Rosa canina) has revealed the presence of an antiinflammatoric lipid, which might explain the clinically observed rheumatic pain releasing effect of the drug.

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