Prague - Antonin Holy, probably the best-known Czech scientist in the world, passed away on Monday 16 July. He was 75 years old.
Antonin Holy, born in 1936 in Prague, participated in the discovery of substances that currently help heal millions of people all over the world.
His biggest success was the development of drugs such as Duviragel for oral herpes, Hepsera for the treatment of chronic Hepatitis B, or Viread that slows down the progression of AIDS.
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The research conducted by Antonin Holy was used by pharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences for the development of its anti-HIV pill Truvada.
In May this year, an expert advisory panel to the US Food and Drug Administration recommended approval of Truvada also for prevention of the disease in certain groups of people exposed to an increased risk of contracting the virus.
Antonin Holy's death was announced by the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, where Holy has worked for decades.
He started to work in the institute in 1960, after graduating from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at the Charles University in Prague with an organic chemistry degree.
In 1976, Holy met with young Belgian virologist Erik de Clercq from the KU Leuven university. Eventually, both scientists started to cooperate in the development of new antiviral substances.
In 1994-2002, Holy was in charge of the academy's organic chemistry institute.
Eventually, Holy headed the institute's research of new substances financed by Gilead Sciences.
In spite of all his fame, Holy was always a humble person who considered hard work the biggest virtue.
