Catherine Llorens-Cortès

Catherine Llorens-Cortès (née Lepart; born January 6, 1954) is a French pharmacologist who is a Professor and Director of the Central Laboratory of Neuropeptides and Water and Cardiovascular Regulations at the Collège de France. Her research considers neuropharmacology and the development of new therapies for people with heart conditions. She was awarded the French Academy of Sciences Medal for Applications of Science in 2023.

Early life and education Llorens-Cortès was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. She was a doctoral researcher at the Pierre and Marie Curie University, where she studied endorphin recognition and response to morphine. After earning her doctorate she was appointed to a permanent research position at L'Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM), where she eventually became research director. In 2011, Llorens-Cortès integrated her laboratory into the Collège de France Interdisciplinary Center for Research in Biology. She developed Firibastat, an aminopeptidase that can penetrate the brain, normalise blood pressure and improve cardiac function. Firibastat prevents left ventricular dysfunction and can improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction. Llorens-Cortès also discovered apelin analogs (e.g. LIT01-196) to treat hyponatremia. LIT01-196 activates the apelin receptor, which is important for moderating cardiovascular function.

Awards and honours 2002 Prize of the French Academy of Sciences 2012 Danièle Hermann Prize 2013 Legion of Honour 2014 Galien Price France 2021 Emilia Valori Prize 2022 Officier of the Legion of Honour 2023 French Academy of Sciences Medal for Applications of Science.

Selected publications