The Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry has launched the Axel Ullrich Lecture in honor of its member, world-renowned researcher and entrepreneur Axel Ullrich. He discovered numerous oncogenes and meticulously described how they transform cells. He was enormously successful in bringing his discoveries from the bench to the bedside. Anti-cancer drugs like Herceptin and Sutent benefited cancer patients worldwide.

The annual Axel Ullrich Lecture is presented by an eminent researcher around Axel Ullrich's birthday in October. The Lecturer is selected by the faculty of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry. Speakers at the Lecture receive the Axel Ullrich Medal.