German president’s science award goes to Iranian scientist

on December 6, 2021 | 8:32:35

German President Joachim Gauck awarded the “2015 Deutscher Zukunftspreis”, the German President’s award for innovation in science and technology, to Iranian scientist Ardeshir Ghofrani and his colleagues on December 2 in Berlin.

A team of medical scientists including Professor Ghofrani, pharmacologist Stasch, and Dr Frey, were presented with a prestigious German award for technology and innovation.

The “Deutscher Zukunftspreis” or “German Future Award” is one of the most prestigious awards in Germany’s scientific community.

The winning team had created a breakthrough drug to combat pulmonary hypertension.

Professor Ghofrani (left), pharmacologist Stasch, and Dr Frey developed the substance from discovery to clinical application

Ghofrani chaired the pre-clinical and clinical trials for the drug at Giessen University Hospital, starting with the first lab tests all the way to the licensing of the substance in the US in 2013 and in the EU in 2014.

“The long-term data we now have shows very promising results in terms of survival and in terms of symptoms,” said lung specialist, Professor Ghofrani.

“Among those who participated in the phase 3 study, the survival rate over periods of one and two years has been more than 95 and 90 percent, respectively,” says Ghofrani. “In the past we could have expected rates of 70 and 50 percent.”

The work of pharmacologist Johannes-Peter Stasch and the medical doctors, Reiner Frey and Ardeschir Ghofrani, improved many people’s lives and for this, they were awarded this year’s “German Future award”.

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