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<p align="center"><b>PLIVA's Scientists - Heroes of Chemistry</b> </p> |
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<p>The "Heroes of Chemistry 2000"ceremony was held on 20 August 2000 in Washington |
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D.C., USA, organised by the American Chemical Society (ACS), a non-profit association |
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of American chemists and chemical engineers and the largest association of scientists |
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in the world. For the discovery of azithromycin, the first class of azalide |
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antibiotics, PLIVA scientists Dr. Slobodan Dokic and Gabrijela Kobrehel, M.Sc., |
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were named heroes of chemistry, together with representatives from US-based |
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Pfizer which had also contributed to the success of Sumamed and Zithromax. On |
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behalf of the late Dr. Dokic, his widow Lidija and son, Dr. Darije Dokic, attended |
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the presentation ceremony.</p> |
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<p> The "Heroes of Chemistry 2000" award is one of numerous awards presented over |
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the years to PLIVA scientists for their long-term contribution to global science, |
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medicine and the improvement of quality of life. This latest recognition is |
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additional confirmation of the value and achievements of PLIVA's entire team |
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of researchers who worked on the discovery of azithromycin, which apart from |
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Dr. Slobodan Dokic and Gabrijela Kobrehel, M.Sc., also included Dr. Zrinka Tamburasev |
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and Gorjana Radobolja-Lazarevski, M.Sc.. </p> |
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<p>The discovery of azithromycin was the greatest event in PLIVA's history and |
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a milestone for the Croatian pharmaceuticals industry. As a result of consistent |
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efforts and dedication to research, in 1980 PLIVA scientists discovered and |
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patented a new original macrolide antibiotic called azithromycin. Because of |
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its exceptional therapeutic properties, azithromycin, sold by PLIVA under the |
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brand name Sumamed, revolutionised antibiotic treatment and became one of the |
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most successful drugs world-wide. Its success has put PLIVA among the few pharmaceutical |
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companies in the world that have developed their own drug and has listed Croatia |
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among only nine countries world-wide that have their own antibiotic substance. |
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</p> |
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<p>At the 220th national ACS meeting, which was dedicated to celebrating the innovators |
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from the field of chemistry who have contributed to improving the human condition |
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on a world-wide scale, six individuals and six teams of scientists were named |
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heroes of chemistry. The awarded scientists came from 10 pharmaceutical companies |
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from across the world, including giants such as BASF, Bristol-Myers, Squibb, |
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Novartis, Dow Chemicals, Procter & Gamble and Xerox. </p> |
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<p>"Selecting Dr. Slobodan Dokic and Gabrijela Kobrehel, M.Sc., as heroes of chemistry |
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is truly great recognition from the Association of American Chemists and Chemical |
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Engineers of their achievements and their dedicated scientific work and research |
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throughout the years together with PLIVA's team of scientists who participated |
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in this great discovery. I also believe it is a confirmation of how important |
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it is for PLIVA to further focus on research and new drug discovery. This will |
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lead to new PLIVA products that will, as it did with azithromycin, bring advancements |
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to drug treatment and contribute to global science," said Dr. Radan Spaventi, |
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PLIVA's Chief Scientific Officer. </p> |