In 1980, McGill University researcher Dr. Kelvin Kenneth Ogilvie developed Ganciclovir to treat or prevent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections. It was launched in 1989. Later came foscarnet, cidofovir and Valganciclovir.

Ogilvie is a leading expert on biotechnology, bioorganic chemistry and genetic engineering. He developed the “Gene Machine” in 1980, an automated process for the manufacture of DNA, which made it possible to build DNA sequences in a matter of hours rather than in months. He is the author of 12 patents including one for Ganciclovir, a drug used worldwide to fight infections that occur when one’s immune system is weakened.