Karl August Folkers

Karl August Folkers (September 1, 1906 – December 7, 1997) was an American biochemist who made major contributions to the isolation and identification of bioactive natural products.

His career was mainly spent at Merck. He played a prominent role in the isolation of vitamin B₁₂, which is one of the most structural complex of the vitamins. As a Merck Pharmaceuticals research team, Folkers, Fern P. Rathe, and Edward Anthony Kaczka were the first to isolate the antibiotic cathomycin in 1955. His team also isolated the antibiotic cycloserine. In 1958 his Merck team determined the structure of coenzyme Q10.

In recognition for his scientific contributions, he received the Perkin Medal in 1960, the Priestley Medal in 1986, and the National Medal of Science in 1990.