Jānis Polis was a Soviet

Soviet people

Soviet people or Soviet nation was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Initially used as a nonspecific reference to the Soviet population, it was eventually declared to be a "new historical, social and international unity of people".-Nationality politics in early Soviet...

 and Latvian pharmacologist and the developer of one of the first methods of synthesis of rimantadine

Rimantadine

Rimantadine is an orally administered antiviral drug used to treat, and in rare cases prevent, influenzavirus A infection. When taken within one to two days of developing symptoms, rimantadine can shorten the duration and moderate the severity of influenza. Both rimantadine and the similar drug...

, which was discovered in 1963 by William W. Prichard of Du Pont & Co. He was born in Eleja parish

Eleja parish

- Towns, villages and settlements of Eleja parish :*...

, Latvia. On 6 February 2009 Polis was awarded the WIPO Award for Outstanding Inventors. Polis died in Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

on 12 April 2011 at the age of 72.