Anton Pottegård
Pharmacology: Anton wants to teach us to use medicine better
With almost 400 scientific articles, Anton Pottegård has already contributed significantly to our knowledge about the use of medicines. But for him, research is only half the job. The other half is communicating the results to the people who need to use the medicines in their everyday lives.
Menopause, eye inflammation, COVID-19 vaccines and blood pressure-lowering medicines. Name a health-related topic, and Anton Pottegård has done a scientific study on it.
At 39 years old, Anton Pottegård has already published more in his research career than most people do in a lifetime; his CV currently includes 394 scientific articles on the use of various medicines, and more are being added all the time.
But it is not just publishing research results that drives him. It is also the desire to communicate his research to other researchers, doctors and ordinary people.
“Over time, I have realized that getting the idea for the study and publishing is only half the job. The results also have to go out and make a difference,” says Anton Pottegård, who has received the Lundbeck Foundation Young Investigator Prize 2025 for his research into pharmaceuticals.
“I spent the first ten years as a researcher working like crazy to learn the craft and build an infrastructure, a position and a research group. Now it is about making the best use of the position and the resources I have built up to move as much as possible,” says Anton Pottegård.
Professor at 32
Anton Pottegård wrote his PhD in pharmacoepidemiology, his doctoral dissertation in the same field, he became a professor at only 32 years old – and along the way has managed to establish his own research group.
For me, the vision of taking responsibility for the research group is at the top of my list now. I want to use the platform and the experiences we have gained to create a dynamic group that can accommodate people where they are now in life.
He was not many years into his research career before he realized that his research into the use of drugs could actually make a difference for a lot of people. For example, his analyses of whether different drugs could increase the risk of getting cancer.
“It became a big area for me because in Denmark we have much better data to look at in the area than anywhere else in the world. With that strength also came a huge responsibility, because if a bad study comes out accusing a drug of causing cancer, then we are almost the only ones left here in Denmark to answer whether it is true or not,” says Anton Pottegård.
For example, in 2014 a study was published that showed that lithium caused kidney cancer. This made the Danish patients who were on lithium treatment worried about whether they should change their medication. But Anton Pottegård's group was able to conduct a study on Danish data that showed that there was no reason for concern..
Computer analysis took 27 days
In 2014, Anton Pottegård had the idea to run an analysis on the computer that examined the risk of many different types of cancer in all possible drugs. It became a comprehensive analysis that took 27 days to run on the computer – and broke with the way people normally worked in the field. But from the huge analysis, a number of new and strong connections emerged, including between the blood pressure-lowering drug hydrochlorothiazide and skin cancer.
“It is probably the one of my results that has changed the treatment of the most people. Today, more than 100,000 Danes have changed treatment from hydrochlorothiazide to another drug. The study has been replicated worldwide, the drug authorities have recognized skin cancer as a side effect, and the patients have changed medication,” he says.
Rapid analysis of COVID vaccine
Anton Pottegård's research group has gradually incorporated some procedures so that they can investigate a suspicion of whether a drug causes side effects quite quickly. This proved to be an advantage in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a specific vaccine was suspected of causing blood clots. Anton Pottegård was asked by the authorities to conduct a lightning-fast study to clarify how big the risk really was.
“We have conducted emergency studies several times to support the authorities. When it works really well, no one has time to discover it. Because then we have time to help the authorities rule out a risk before it even becomes something that worries patients,” says Anton Pottegård.
In this case, the process was truly lightning-fast: Six days passed from the time Anton Pottegård's research group proposed the study to the time the answers were delivered to the authorities. Shortly afterwards, the Danish authorities decided to stop using the vaccine in question.
Assists GPs with medication weaning
But Anton Pottegård doesn't just study the side effects of individual drugs – he also tries to contribute to the big picture: Together with the Danish Society for General Medicine (DSAM), he has just completed a guideline on weaning frail elderly patients. A topic that is pressing because polypharmacy – the use of many drugs in the same patient – is a growing problem in the growing elderly population.
"We have gradually acquired so many effective drugs that if doctors in all fields each make their own guidelines for the treatment of a disease, it may well be difficult to be 85 years old and make several mistakes. Because then you get piled up on drugs," says Anton Pottegård.
"My colleagues and I try in different ways to contribute to how to prioritize medication, especially in those of advanced age. So you can get a systematic approach to re-evaluating and possibly stopping a drug. Because we are not as good at re-evaluating the drug as we are at prescribing it," adds Anton Pottegård.
Focus on the leadership role
Anton Pottegård's research group now has 47 people - with different professional backgrounds - and this means a greater focus on the role of group leader:
"I have some pretty wonderful colleagues. We have a lot of younger researchers in particular who are very talented. It also means that I can step back a bit and focus on giving them the right framework, so that they can focus on the case and become even more skilled. Talent development and career building are a big part of what I find exciting about building a research group," says Anton Pottegård and adds:
"For me, the vision of taking responsibility for the research group is at the top of my list now. I want to use the platform and the experiences we have gained to create a dynamic group that can accommodate people where they are now in life. And at the same time, I want to maintain the fantastic working environment we have in the department, so that the young researchers can develop professionally."
Hydrochlorothiazide
In 2017-18, Anton Pottegård and his colleagues published a number of studies showing that the blood pressure-lowering medication hydrochlorothiazide increases the risk of skin cancer. The results were later confirmed using data from other countries and have led to hydrochlorothiazide being added to the list of carcinogenic substances by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Covid-19 and vaccine side effects
One of the first vaccines against Covid-19 was suspected of increasing the risk of blood clots. Anton Pottegård led the Danish-Norwegian investigation of side effects of the vaccine, which contributed to the vaccine being stopped in Denmark in 2021.
"Choose Smart" (Vælg Klogt) recommendation on eye inflammation
Anton Pottegård's research group has conducted a registry study on eye inflammation, which has formed the basis for a collaboration with the "Choose Smart" (Vælg Klogt) organization. This led to a recommendation in September 2025 that mild cases of eye inflammation should not be treated with antibiotics. The study showed that there is a high consumption of eye antibiotics in Denmark, which varies greatly across the country.
