Antonín Holý | |
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| Born | (1936-09-01)September 1, 1936 |
| Died | July 16, 2012(2012-07-16) (aged 75) |
| Alma mater | Charles University in Prague |
| Known for | Antiretroviral drugs used in the treatment ofHIV |
| Spouse | Ludmila Holá |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemist |
| Institutions | Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences(1960 – 1992) Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic(1992 – 2002) |
| Doctoral students | Michal Hocek |
Antonín Holý (1 September 1936 – 16 July 2012) was a pioneeringCzech scientist. He specialised in the field ofchemistry and cooperated on the development of importantantiretroviral drugs used in the treatment ofHIV andhepatitis B.[1] He was involved in the creation of the most effective drug (as of early 2009) in the treatment ofAIDS.[2] Antonín Holý is the author of more than 450 papers, 400 scientific discoveries and holds 60 patents.[3][4][5] With more than 400 discoveries to his credit, his work has affected millions of people with viral diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and many other viral diseases.[6] In 2008 he received an Honorary Professorship at theUniversity of Manchester's School of Chemistry.[7]
Born inPrague,Czechoslovakia, Antonín Holý studiedorganic chemistry from 1954 to 1959 at the Faculty of Science ofCharles University in Prague. From 1960 he trained at theInstitute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) of theCzechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague and had been a researcher there since 1963. He became the institute's lead scientist in 1967, and from 1983 headed its working group fornucleic acids. In 1987 he became chief of the Department of Nucleic Acid Chemistry and from 1994 to 2002 he was head of the IOCB.
Since 1976 he had collaborated on the development of new antiretroviral drugs withErik De Clercq of theRega Institute for Medical Research at theCatholic University of Leuven,Belgium.[8]
His key contribution is the synthesis ofnucleotide analogues, synthetic mimetics of the building blocks ofRNA andDNA, that have found utility as inhibitors of viral replication. These includeTenofovir,Adefovir andCidofovir.[9] Although ineffective as originally synthesized by Holy because of impermeability conferred by the negative charged phosphonate, conjugation withPOM andPOC pro-drug moieties developed by David Farquhar atM.D. Anderson Cancer Center, has made these nucleotide analogues into clinically effective drugs for the treatment of Hepatitis B (biPOM-Adefovir,Hepsera), and biPOC-TenofovirTenofovir. Together, these drugs have made a dramatic impact for the treatment of HIV. In particular, Truvada has shown exceptionally useful in preventing HIV transmission and thus has not only helped countless HIV patients, but has in fact prevented countless other healthy individuals from contracting the disease in the first place.
In 2006 the USbiopharmaceutical companyGilead Sciences, under the direction ofTomáš Cihlář,[10] and the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic jointly established a new research center, oriented to the development of new preparations.[8] Gilead promised the IOCB a $1.1 million donation, to fund its operations and research for 5 years.[8]
Several antiretroviral drugs based on Holý's discoveries have been licensed. In 1996,Vistide was approved for production in theUnited States andEuropean Union.Viread (tenofovir) was approved in the US in 2001 for the treatment of AIDS, andHepsera was approved in 2003 for the treatment of hepatitis B.Truvada, a combination of Viread andemtricitabine, was approved in 2006 for use in the USA.[11]
Holý had retired a year before his death and died of an unspecified cause, aged 75, on 16 July 2012. A statement from the IOCB called his death "an immense loss".[12][13] His death occurred two months after the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvedTruvada for treating HIV.[6]
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