Fifty years of the Research Institute for Pharmacy and Biochemistry

The Research Institute for Pharmacy and Biochemistry (VUFB) officially started its activities in 1951 as the successor of the Spofa Research and Control Institute. In the fifties and sixties of the last century, the Institute acquired the profile of a prestigious and actually the only centre of research and development of human pharmaceuticals for the then Czechoslovak pharmaceutical industry. The research of the Institute was focused on, substances acting on the central nervous system, blood circulation and coagulation, inflammatory processes, microbial infections and cancerostatics. The remarkable position of VUFB in research and development of pharmaceuticals is evidenced by the fact that 31 original human drugs have been approved for commercialization. Seven of them enjoyed a good reputation on foreign markets and were licensed. The antidepressant dosulepin referred to as Prothiaden,and cardiovascular substance metipranolol referred to as Torrat found general appreciation on the European market. Privatization of the Institute starting in 1993 was completed in 1998 by incorporating of the VUFB into Leciva Inc.