Charles Weissmann

Hungarian-Swiss biologist (1931–2025)

Charles Weissmann (14 October 1931 – 11 December 2025) was a Hungarian-Swiss molecular biologist. Weissmann is particularly known for the first cloning and expression of interferon and his contributions to the unraveling of the molecular genetics of neurogenerative prion diseases such as scrapie, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, and "mad cow disease".²

From Wikipedia’s article on Charles Weissmann (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Oct 14, 1931, died Dec 11, 2025.¹

Companies

BiogenFounder²²

Early life and education

Date not recordedUniversity of Zurich³

Career

Occupation: biochemist, molecular biologist, university teacher.⁶

Date not recordedWorked at University of Zurich⁴
Date not recordedFounded Biogen⁵

Charles Weissmann was born in 1931 in Budapest, and grew up between Zurich and Rio de Janeiro. Weissmann went to University of Zurich and obtained his MD in 1956 and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1961. In 1978, Weissmann co-founded the biotech company Biogen in Geneva. Biogen is considered one of the pioneers of the biotechnology industries. Weissmann was director of the Institute for Molecular Biology in Zurich, President of the Roche Research Foundation and co-founder and Member of the Scientific Council of Biogen. He was Chairman of the Department of Infectology, Scripps Florida until 2011.

He won several awards, including the Otto Warburg Medal (1980) and the Scheele Award (1982). A member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina he was also a Foreign Associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society (UK) and the Pour le Mérite (Germany). On 16 May 2011, Weissmann became Doctor of Science Honoris Causa at New York University.

Weissmann died on 11 December 2025, at the age of 94.

From Wikipedia’s article on Charles Weissmann (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

BornOct 14, 1931, Budapest⁷
DiedDec 11, 2025, Zurich^{8 9}
CitizenshipSwitzerland¹⁰

Awards

2014Ernst Jung Gold Medal for Medicine¹¹
2003Warren Alpert Foundation Prize^{11 21}
2001Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences^{11 20}
1998Mendel Medal^{11 19}
1997August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal^{11 17}
1997Max Delbrück Medal¹¹
1997Wilhelm Exner Medal^{11 18}
1995Robert Koch Gold Medal^{11 16}
1994Honorary doctors of Ghent University^{11 15}
1993Gabor Medal^{11 14}

More awards (12)

1988Ernst Jung Prize for Medicine¹¹
1983Foreign Member of the Royal Society¹¹
1982Dr H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics¹¹
1982Scheele Award¹¹
1980Otto Warburg Medal^{11 13}
1974Sir Hans Krebs Medal¹¹
1970Marcel Benoist Prize^{11 12}
Date not recordedEMBO Membership¹¹
Date not recordedPour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order¹¹
Date not recordedhonorary doctor of ETH Zürich¹¹
Date not recordedhonorary doctor of the University of St Andrews¹¹
Date not recordedhonorary doctor of the University of Zurich¹¹

Sources

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WikidataCharles Weissmann on Wikidata
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WikipediaCharles Weissmann on Wikipedia
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WikidataCharles Weissmann: education, on Wikidata
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WikidataCharles Weissmann: Worked at University of Zurich, on Wikidata
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WikidataCharles Weissmann: Founded Biogen, on Wikidata
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WikidataCharles Weissmann: occupation, on Wikidata
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WikidataCharles Weissmann: place of birth, on Wikidata
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WikidataCharles Weissmann: place of death, on Wikidata
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Wikidataplace of death, as reported by Charles Weissmann (1931–2025), an outstanding and captivating molecular biologist
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WikidataCharles Weissmann: citizenship, on Wikidata
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WikidataCharles Weissmann: award, on Wikidata
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WikidataBiogen, Founder