Mikhail Davidovich Mashkovsky

Mikhail Davidovich Mashkovsky (Russian: Михаил Давыдович Машковский) (March 1, 1908 - June 5, 2002) was a famous Russian pharmacologist, and Academician of the Russian Academy of Science, the author of the famous Soviet and later on Russian pharmacopoeia "Medical compounds", which had 15 successful editions (the last 15th edition was published after his death in 2005 in Russia).

He was born on 1 March 1908. In 1934 he graduated from Second Moscow Medical Institute named after Pirogov. In 1938 he started his work at the National research institute for chemistry and pharmacy. In 1939 he got his PhD in pharmacology, his doctoral thesis dealt with pharmacology of respiratory analeptics and synthesis of originally soviet drug cytiton.

In 1941 he is recruited to the army and sent to the front. He worked as the chief toxicologist of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. He continued to publish scientific articles. For his military achievements he was awarded the Order of the Red Star, two Orders of the Great Patriotic War (of 1st and 2nd class).

In postwar time he continued to work in the same research institution, soon becoming its director. He remained on this position until his death in 2002.

In 1948 he finishes his habilitation work devoted to the pharmacology of alkaloids. Many classical soviet drugs were first synthesized or tested in his lab. In total, more than 8000 compounds were tested for promising therapeutic effects.

Besides his work as the Head of the Pharmacopoeial Committee of Soviet Union, he during many years worked as an expert of WHO for quality control of medical compounds and a member of the United States Pharmacopoeia Convention.

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