On 30 March 2021, John C. Martin, former executive chairman and CEO of Gilead Sciences, has passed away. Dr. Martin was one of the key figures without whom some of the most important antivirals used to combat HIV or HBV, originating in Antonín Holý’s lab at IOCB Prague, would never exist.
“John C. Martin was a chemist by education and a businessman by profession. However, from the bottom of his heart he was especially an enterprising adventurer with an excellent instinct for recognizing the potential of promising substances and great business opportunities,” says Zdeněk Hostomský, director of IOCB. “Only thanks to his dedication, foresight, perseverance, but also his considerable courage to take risks, a whole range of successful drugs against HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C is available to the world.”
At IOCB Prague, John Martin will be remembered especially for his role in the exciting and moving story of the development of antivirals against HIV and hepatitis B in collaboration with Antonín Holý and Erik De Clercq. He was the driving force, without him tenofovir would probably remain only one of many underappreciated compounds for which no suitable use has been found. Martin contributed to the beginning of a long-term partnership between IOCB Prague and Gilead Sciences, in which interesting research projects and results have been emerging for several decades.
“John was not only a great manager but also a great human. And a good friend. The moment I realized that probably most clearly was when I once drove him from the hotel to the airport at 4 a.m. I asked him about the possibility of financially supporting some of the scientific groups at the institute, especially the team of Tony Holý. He just thought about it for a little bit and then delivered his verdict: 'How about a million dollars a year, and you'll give Tony a hundred thousand.' That was enough to establish the IOCB-Gilead Research Centre, which continues to this day,” recollects Zdeněk Havlas, former director of IOCB.
John C. Martin will be remembered by his collaborators and friends from IOCB as an extremely inspiring person with the merits of saving millions of lives worldwide.
“It is hard to admit that John can no longer pass on his valuable advice and experience to us. It was just a year ago when we visited John in Palo Alto and consulted him on the future directions for IOCB. His instincts and experience were impeccable. He organized an impressive group of his trusted collaborators to fine tune the recommendation which we have been following ever since,” finishes Zdeněk Hostomský.
