photo: BNA
The Institute of Microbiology of BAS has received a donation of BGN 30 thousand for the continuation of the research of scientists from the Virology Department. The funds were collected by MPs from the “BSP for Bulgaria” parliamentary group and will be used to find substances with antiviral activity.
We are making this donation in the name of the future, in the name of science, BSP leader Korneliya Ninova announced before reporters. She added that she and her colleagues believed in the capacity and capabilities of Bulgarian scientists to seek and find a cure for coronavirus.
The director of the Institute of Microbiology Assoc. Prof. Penka Petrova thanked for the donation and announced that the scientists were ready with 22 chemically synthesized compounds and plant extracts from medicinal plants. Coronavirus 229E strain, which was isolated decades ago and no longer posed a major risk to humans, is being investigated. Prof. Petrova stated that the donation would be used to purchase cell lines that are specific for the strain and expressed hope that BAS scientists would soon find a compound that could serve as a therapeutic or disinfectant in the fight against the coronavirus. The Department of Immunology of the Institute of Microbiology also conducts advanced research on the producing of vaccine.
The leader of BSP Korneliya Ninova met and talked with the President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Prof. Julian Revalski, Full member of BAS. The problem we are facing poses a much wider range of tasks in the field of biomedicine but we hope that we are close to the completion of the preparation of a large-scale project, said Prof. Revalski.
