On March 26, the Latvian pharmaceutical company Grindeks will present the prestigious D. H. Grindel Award – the highest professional recognition for significant or lifetime contributions in the fields of pharmacy and medicine.
As usual, the award ceremony will take place during the solemn “Annual Medical Awards” event organized by the Latvian Medical Association.
“The fact that the D. H. Grindel Award has been presented for 30 years confirms our unwavering commitment to supporting science and medicine. This award is a symbol of our respect and gratitude to doctors and pharmacists, scientists and medical professionals who make the world healthier through their work and calling. We at Grindeks are proud to honour these outstanding specialists and to inspire new generations to continue what they have started,” emphasizes Kirovs Lipmans, Chairman of the Council at Grindeks.
The D. H. Grindel Award was established in 1995 with the goal of promoting the development of pharmacy in Latvia and honouring scientists, pharmacists, and medical professionals who have advanced innovation and improved patients’ quality of life through their work. Initially, the award was presented in the form of a medal, but in 2015, marking the award’s 20th anniversary, it evolved into the D. H. Grindel Award. The award is named in honour of Latvian natural scientist, doctor, pharmacist, and professor David Hieronymus Grindel (1776–1836). The name of the company Grindeks itself is derived from the beginning of Grindel’s name combined with the suffix “-eks”, taken from the words “experiment” and “export”.
The current design of the award was created in 2021 by Latvia’s leading glass artist Anda Munkevica. The sculpture, titled “Hope”, unites two opposites – metal and fragile glass. The metal symbolizes the strength of the award laureates, while the fragile glass in the form of a wing of hope represents the drive to help people and advance the field of medicine.
Over the past thirty years, D. H. Grindel Award laureates have included scientists, doctors, pharmacists, and researchers whose work has made a significant impact both in Latvia and internationally. The award has been received by such outstanding figures in Latvian medicine and pharmacy as pediatric neurologist Jurģis Strautmanis, Prof. Dr. med. Andrejs Ērglis, Prof. Dr. med. Juris Pokrotnieks, Prof. Dr. med. Ināra Logina, Dr. med. Vilnis Dzērve-Tāluts, Dr. habil. chem., Dr. hist. h. c., Prof. Jānis Stradiņš, Prof. Dr. habil. biol. Elmārs Grēns, Dr. habil. chem. Regīna Žuka, Prof. Dr. hab. chem. Ivars Kalviņš, Dr. chem. Jānis Polis, Assoc. Prof., Dr. pharm. Vija Eniņa, Dr. habil. med. Vija Kluša, Dr. Pēteris Apinis, Dr. chem. Osvalds Pugovičs, Prof. Dr. pharm. Maija Dambrova, Dr. habil. chem. Raimonds Valters, and many other distinguished individuals.
As Professor Jānis Stradiņš, laureate of the D. H. Grindel Award and compiler of the book “From Grindel to the Present Day”, once said:
“This award is a moral stimulus and a sense of unity, that we are part of a historic chain.”
Grindeks continues to uphold this tradition – supporting excellence in pharmacy and medicine, investing in innovation, and advancing the development of new medicines.
