Ivars Kalviņš (born 2 June 1947) is a Latvian chemist who invented the drug meldonium, trade-named Mildronate.Ivars KALVIŅŠ
. Inventions.lza.lv. Retrieved on 14 May 2016.

Biography

In 1969 Kalviņš graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Latvia, and in 1985 defended a

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

at the

Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

. Since 1986 he works at the Riga Institute of Organic Synthesis, which he headed in 2003–2014. Earlier between 1994 and 2000 he served as President of the Latvian Society of Chemistry. Kalviņš was involved in the synthesis of several drugs, including meldonium, leakadin,

neramexane Neramexane is a drug related to memantine, which acts as an NMDA antagonist and has neuroprotective effects. It is being developed for various possible applications, including treatment of tinnitus, Alzheimer's disease, drug addiction and as an a ...

, and belinostat.

Awards and honors

Kalviņš is an Officer of Order of the Three Stars and since 1994 is a full member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. He was awarded the State Prize of the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was a federated republic within the Soviet Union, and formally one of its 16 (later 15) constituent republics. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Rep ...

in 1988 and the Grand Medal of Academy of Sciences of Latvia in 2009. He was nominated as a finalist for the European Inventor Award 2015. As a member of a team of authors he received the "Annual Award in Science 2017" for the development of a new and promising compound E1R ( methylphenylpiracetam) for improving memory and treating epilepsy. The E1R is the first known and published positive allosteric modulator of Sigma 1 receptor that improves memory processes and prevents seizures.

References

External links

Интервью
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalvins, Ivars 1947 births Living people Scientists from Riga Latvian chemists Soviet chemists Academicians of the Latvian Academy of Sciences University of Latvia alumni 20th-century Latvian inventors