František Šorm (28 February 1913 in Prague – 18 November 1980) was a Czech chemist known for synthesis of natural compounds, mainly terpenes and biologically active components of plants.

After the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia (which he protested against), Šorm was removed from his administrative positions, was forbidden to attend conferences abroad and was, at age of 60, forced into early retirement.

[1] In the field of bioorgamic chemistry, he advanced knowledge of sesquiterpenoids, with medium-ring molecules, and explained the structure of different isoprenoid compounds.

He also initiated the study of natural peptides, especially neurohypophyseal hormones and their analogues, some of which were shown to be of major clinical importance.

His studies of antimetabolites of nucleic acid constituents as potential cancerostatics or virostatics led to the synthesis and determination of the mechanism of several highly active compounds, for example, 5-azacytidine and 6-azauridine.