Former CSIR Director General Girish Sahni, known for developing clot busters for treatment of cardiovascular diseases, died on Monday, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research said. He was 68.
Sahni, who specialised in protein engineering, molecular biology, and biotechnology, contributed significantly in the area of protein cardiovascular drugs especially ‘clot busters’ and their mode of action in the human body.
The team led by Sahni was responsible for producing technology for India’s first indigenous clot blusters, natural streptokinase and recombinant streptokinase.
He also developed clot-specific streptokinase, a drug whose licensing rights were sold to Nostrum Pharmaceuticals in New Jersey, the US, in 2006.
“His work on streptokinase was a block buster, what he used to call as a clot buster. His was one of the most visible tech transfers in Indian Academia,” former Director General of CSIR Shekhar Mande said in a post on X.
Sahni joined CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology in Chandigarh in 1991 and became institute’s Director in 2005. Sahni served as CSIR Director General from 2015-18. Apart from these positions, he was an honorary professor at PU, Bhatnagar fellow at IMTECH and Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), and a visiting professor at Indian School of Business.
He has several publications to his credit and also a member of many societies include Fellow, Indian Academy of Science, Bangalore, and NASI, Allahabad; Fellow, Association of Microbiologists of India; Member, Guha Research Conference.
He is a recipient of many Awards & Distinctions like National Biotechnology Product Development Award 2002 • CSIR Technology Shield 2001-2002 • The Vasvik Industrial Award 2000 • Ranbaxy Award in Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2003.
