Elegance of the Molecule danced its way to the highest cinema audience

The live broadcast of the play Elegance of the Molecule, about the life of the biochemist Antonín Holý, who discovered a number of antivirals used in treating HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, became the best-attended "film" of the first weekend in April. A record 28,000 people watched the Dejvice Theatre production in cinemas across the Czech Republic. Neuron supported the creation of the play about the biochemist Antonín Holý, and Monika Vondráková summed up what makes this story so singular even now.

"The story of one of the greatest figures of Czech and world science, whose discovery changed the future for millions of patients, is an inspiration, a hope, a source of pride. It is about the courage to take a path others cannot see. And that is exactly why Neuron gave financial support to the creation of this play in 2018. We are very glad that the story from the Dejvice laboratory still resonates and is still finding its audience."

— — Monika Vondráková, director and co-founder of the Neuron Foundation —

The Dejvice Theatre actor Martin Myšička played Professor Antonín Holý in Petr Zelenka's play

Monika, where do you think the recipe for the success of Elegance of the Molecule lies?

In elegant hyperbole, clever humour, a timeless story, modesty and humility, and superb acting. The author and director of the play, Petr Zelenka, captured the world of science with all its virtues and its bad habits, and the path of scientists who live somewhat in their own world, in their own basic research, but who perhaps for that very reason are behind one of the greatest discoveries. It is an adventure.

Why did Neuron decide to support the creation of this story?

In 2018 Neuron funded the writing of the original script with 300,000 crowns, which was an enormous sum of money for us, all the more so because it was a big bet on an uncertainty. We did not know whether the play would catch on, whether a story about basic research and technology transfer would interest anyone at all…

But it soon turned out to be a bullseye!

That's right! The reputation of Petr Zelenka and of the Dejvice Theatre actors, who keep showing that they are in incredible form, paid off. The play continues to be a success and I believe it will become an inspiration for adapting other similar stories from the world of science. But above all, it means one of the most significant stories Czech science has written, and one that still has much to offer, will be preserved — at the very least as an inspiration to young scientific hopes.

Professor Antonín Holý's actual office — the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague's Dejvice

The play about miraculous molecules uncovers one of the great world stories of Czech science. Where do you see the essential connection with the Neuron Foundation?

Elegance of the Molecule sums up exactly what we at Neuron have long been striving for: outstanding Czech science, going hand in hand with the support of enlightened patrons and experienced businesspeople, can change the world and positively shape our future, provided it receives the attention it deserves, financial attention included.

That is why, for instance, through the Neuron Awards we honour outstanding scientists for their research — the laureates' stories are in many respects the same; they too are about diligence, perseverance, modesty, humility, sacrifice for a higher purpose, but above all about a path that can change our future. And then there is another connection: the story around Antonín Holý shows how immensely important it is for a scientist to step out of their bubble and become a businessperson — a successful transfer specialist able to commercialise their research.

What did Antonín Holý mean, and in fact still mean, for Czech science?

What Professor Holý achieved is an incredible success even from today's perspective, and he rightly belongs among the greatest figures of Czech and world science. Thanks to interdisciplinary cooperation and the support of enlightened businesspeople he discovered antivirals that to this day save millions of patients with AIDS or hepatitis B. His work was taken up very successfully by laboratories all over the world during the covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to the commercial success of his drugs and the licence fees for the patents, the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, where Antonín Holý carried out his research, developed significantly. Today it is one of the most modern research institutions, with an international reputation. Professor Holý's work has countless benefits for society as a whole to its credit.

The immortal Antonín Holý: "You know the joke. Chemists don't die, they just become inorganic chemists. Thanks to chemistry, Tony is immortal!" — an extract from the script of Elegance of the Molecule by Petr Zelenka