March 25, 2026, marks the 80th birthday of the outstanding scientist, Professor Vladimir Zherdev, who stood at the origins of the development of Russian pharmacokinetics. 

Vladimir Pavlovich celebrates his anniversary while continuing to work actively at the Laboratory of Pharmacokinetics of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Federal Research Center for Innovator and Emerging Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies", to which he has devoted 40 years of his life, having shaped the principles of research in this branch of pharmacological science that remain relevant even in the changing conditions of modern life.

Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, and Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Zherdev was born in the town of Yampol, Vinnytsia Oblast. In 1970, he graduated from the Faculty of Biomedicine of the 2nd Moscow Order of Lenin State Medical Institute named after N.I. Pirogov, specializing as a “physician-biochemist.” That same year, he entered postgraduate studies at the Research Institute of Pharmacology of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences. In 1975, he defended his dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Medical Sciences under the supervision of Academician V.V. Zakusov (USSR Academy of Medical Sciences) and Candidate of Medical Sciences Yu.I. Vikhlyaev.

In 1985, under the supervision of Academician A.V. Valdman (Russian Academy of Medical Sciences), he defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Medical Sciences and was appointed Head of the Laboratory of Pharmacokinetics at the Research Institute of Pharmacology of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, a position he holds to this day. In 1991, he was awarded the academic title of Professor in the specialty “Pharmacology,” and in 2003, the title of Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation.

V.P. Zherdev’s scientific research in the fields of pharmacokinetics and biopharmacy demonstrates the importance and necessity of studying pharmacokinetic features at the stage of development and clinical implementation of privileged molecules of pharmacologically active substances possessing various types of activity.

In the research conducted by V.P. Zherdev and the team he leads, methods have been developed for the quantitative determination of original and generic drugs in various classes of chemical compounds (derivatives of phenothiazine, 1,4-benzodiazepine, adamantane, benzimidazole, 3-oxypyridine, short peptides, etc.) in biological samples. To accomplish these tasks, modern analytical methods are used (high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, etc.), characterized by high precision, sensitivity, selectivity, and reproducibility. For the implementation of new methods and the creation of medicines, V.P. Zherdev has been awarded the Order of the Badge of Honour, two bronze medals from VDNKh, the “Excellence in Healthcare” badge, the Medal “In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow,” as well as the Jubilee Medal “300 Years of the Russian Academy of Sciences.”

V.P. Zherdev has developed a methodology for conducting preclinical pharmacokinetic studies of new pharmacologically active molecules. Some of these principles are reflected in the “Methodological Guidelines for Preclinical Study of Drug Pharmacokinetics” (Moscow, 2013).

A significant role in the research of V.P. Zherdev and his colleagues is occupied by the study of drug biotransformation, especially at the drug development stage. The important role of certain metabolites in manifesting the pharmacological action of the studied compounds has been demonstrated. Based on some identified metabolites, new original drugs are currently being created.

The scientific direction developed under the leadership of V.P. Zherdev is undoubtedly promising and holds great scientific and practical importance. For 55 years, this direction, associated with various aspects of pharmacokinetic and biopharmaceutical research, has been actively supported by the directors of the Research Institute of Pharmacology — Academicians V.V. Zakusov, A.V. Valdman, S.B. Seredenin, and A.D. Durnev. Currently, at the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Federal Research Center for Innovator and Emerging Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies" (the successor to the Research Institute of Pharmacology), the Acting General Director, Professor V.L. Dorofeev, being familiar with this field, pays great attention to these studies, the improvement of methods, and prospects for their development.

V.P. Zherdev carries out extensive scientific and organizational work. From 1992 to 1998, he served as chairman of the direction “Pharmacokinetic and Biopharmaceutical Principles for Improving Medicinal Products” under the State Scientific and Technical Program “Creation of New Drugs by Chemical and Biological Synthesis.”

V.P. Zherdev is a member of the Expert Qualification Commission of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation for the certification of experts authorized to conduct expert reviews of medicinal products for medical use.

For many years, he has been actively involved in the work of the Dissertation Council based at the “Research Institute of Pharmacology of the Russian Academy of Sciences” and the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Federal Research Center for Innovator and Emerging Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies".

In 2005, V.P. Zherdev was invited to join the editorial board of the journal “Clinical Pharmacokinetics.” The journal was initially organized to publish exclusively pharmacokinetic research because this scientific field was rapidly developing at the time. In 2012, the journal was renamed under a new title — “Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics.” V.P. Zherdev became the Editor-in-Chief. Publications now cover almost the entire spectrum of pharmacological research and are mainly devoted to the creation and implementation of new, original, and promising Russian medicines. It should be noted that articles dedicated to the study of experimental/clinical pharmacokinetics have received and continue to receive considerable attention, as the information presented in them can be directly used in practice (in drug labels, therapy, etc.).

Unlike European countries and the United States, the Russian Federation has no specialized journals dedicated solely to pharmacokinetics. The journal “Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics” can be considered the “flagship” in this field across the entire post-Soviet space. This was one of the reasons for its inclusion, starting in May 2022, in the list of peer-reviewed scientific publications where the main scientific results of dissertations for the Candidate of Sciences degree and Doctor of Sciences degree of the Russian Federation must be published. In 2025, the journal was included in the Unified State Register of Scientific Publications — the “White List.”

Vladimir Zherdev is a pharmacologist of the highest qualification. As a research supervisor and consultant, he has trained 15 Candidates of Sciences and 6 Doctors of Medical, Biological, and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He is the author of more than 500 scientific publications and 5 monographs.

The editorial board of the journal and fellow scientists congratulate Professor V.P. Zherdev on his anniversary!