The Antonov Foundation's object is the research into a possible infectious agent involved in the development of sclerosis and in particular atherosclerosis.

The Antonov Foundation was set up in May 1998 to conduct research into Roumen Antonov's theories that fungi are present in human blood vessels and are the causes of various serious diseases, including atherosclerosis, the biggest killer in the developed world.

The Antonov Foundation is a non-profit organization which undertakes its research thanks to grants and funds received from donors. In addition to its own activities, the Antonov Foundation works in partnership with various organizations and individuals specialized in this field of research.

In November 1999 Candida Medical B.V. was set up in the Netherlands for research, development and therapy based on the hypothesis of the presence of fungi in human blood vessels.

Candida Medical B.V. holds all the intellectual property for the research, development, and therapy for this hypothesis and has, as an objective, the commercialisation of the rights arising from this property.

Candida Medical B.V has an agreement with the Antonov Foundation to donate 10 % of all profits from the commercialisation of the intellectual property, in an effort to stimulate scientific study in this domain.
Studies were first carried in Sofia, Bulgaria, where a team of scientists decided to investigate the hypothesis that micro-organisms of a fungal type reside in human blood vessels and are involved in the formation of atheromatosic plaques. This hypothesis had first been put forward by Roumen Antonov in 1980 in Sofia but remained unpublished until 1998. It was disclosed in Roumen Antonov's autobiography first published in Bulgaria in April 1998. The Foundation was set up in Sofia in the same year to provide Bulgarian researchers with the means to independently verify his radical suggestions and, at the end of 1998, experimental results corroborated Roumen Antonov's hypothesis.

The Antonov Foundation then approached specialists in France, at the Laboratory of Microbiology at René Descartes - Paris V - University, and at the Departments of Cardiovascular Surgery at La Pitié-Salpétrière and Broussais hospitals. A second set of experiments was conducted in 1999, focusing on a thorough study of 50 patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery in the two above-mentioned hospitals. These experiments proved the widespread presence of fungi in the human blood vessels. The implications of this discovery are very far-reaching. A scientific paper was produced and presented at the congress of the French Society of Medical Mycology, which took place in Paris on November 26-27, 1999. Another presentation was made in 2000 at the Cardio Vascular Prevention congress in London and, in the same year, at the Second congress of Cardio Vascular Disease in Arcachon, France.
In 2000, genetic studies were carried out with the isolated species of fungi at the University of Lyon. The study resulted in the surprising discovery that the isolated species were of a family similar to the fungi found in wood, but in reality, very rarely isolated and with properties that were little known. Samples of isolated fungi were deposited with the Pasteur Institute in Paris and a patent application was made for identification of the fungi and the treatment of diseases caused by them.

The next stage of study was carried out by Candida Medical B.V, which entered into two successive agreements with Covance, one of the leading biotech developers. The objective was to present the Food and Drug Administration with the results of the earlier work and the theory underlying the proposed treatment. Candida Medical B.V met with the Food and Drug Administration and was encouraged to proceed, in Phases 2 and 3, with the development of a study to demons trate treatment for a number of cardiovascular diseases.

At this stage, Candida Medical B.V is developing Phase 2. Candida Medical B.V has also approached some of the major pharmaceutical companies and, after getting a nondisclosure agreement with them, is now negotiating a possible partnership for the next phase.

In August 2003, a patent for the identification and treatment of the fungi was granted and applies to all international claims. Candida Medical B.V thus holds international protection for this patent.