Klaus Grohe

Klaus Peter Grohe (born 16 January 1934) is a German chemist best known for pioneering work on quinolone and fluoroquinolone antibiotics at Bayer AG, including the invention of Ciprofloxacin. He developed a widely adopted synthetic approach known as the "Grohe method" for constructing quinolone carboxylic acids, which underpinned later fluoroquinolone discovery programs. In retirement, he and his wife established the Klaus Grohe Foundation (Klaus-Grohe-Stiftung) to support young researchers in drug discovery and medicinal chemistry.

Early life and education Grohe was born in Ludwigshafen am Rhein on 16 January 1934. He studied chemistry at the University of Würzburg, where he completed a doctorate in 1964 on the synthesis of pyridine derivatives. Court records from patent litigation in the United States have described the synthetic route and prior steps leading to ciprofloxacin within Bayer's program.

He retired from Bayer in 1997. Honorary title Professor conferred by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (2010).

Philanthropy In 2001 Grohe and his wife Eva established the Klaus Grohe Foundation at the German Chemical Society (GDCh). The foundation has awarded the Klaus Grohe Prize (since 2020 the Klaus Grohe Award) for outstanding work in drug discovery; since 2020 it has been endowed with €50,000 and focuses on scientists working in Europe.

Selected patents K. Grohe; H.-J. Zeiler; K. G. Metzger, "… quinoline/naphthyridine-3-carboxylic acids" (ciprofloxacin family), US 4,670,444; reexam. US 4,670,444 B1. Formulations containing ciprofloxacin and related actives, US 4,844,902.