The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015
Awarded on: 2015-10-05
"for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites"
Affiliations:
- Kitasato University – Tokyo, Japan
Satoshi Ōmura
Born: 1935-07-12 in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
Gender: male
Field: Japanese biochemist, co-inventor of ivermectin (born 1935)
Biography
Satoshi Ōmura is a Japanese biochemist. He is known for the discovery and development of hundreds of pharmaceuticals originally occurring in microorganisms. In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with William C. Campbell for their role in the discovery of avermectins and ivermectin, the world's first endectocide and a safe and highly effective microfilaricide. It is believed that the large molecular size of ivermectin prevents it from crossing the blood/aqueous humour barrier, and renders the drug an important treatment of helminthically-derived blindness.