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Three researchers were honored with the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for creating treatments that effectively combat malaria, elephantiasis, and river blindness.
In a press release [PDF], the Nobel Prize committee stated that these breakthroughs "have given humanity powerful tools to fight these devastating diseases, which impact hundreds of millions each year. The improvements in health and reduction in suffering are beyond measure."
Youyou Tu, a pharmaceutical chemist at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing, received half of the prize for her groundbreaking work on malaria. She identified a treatment derived from the plant Artemisia annua by extensively screening herbal remedies and studying ancient medical texts. Tu's purification process led to the extraction of Artemisinin, a crucial component in a new generation of antimalarial drugs that effectively eliminate malaria parasites during their early growth stages.
Artemisinin, now globally utilized to treat a disease affecting nearly 200 million people annually, has been shown to decrease malaria mortality rates by over 20% overall and more than 30% among children. In Africa, Tu's discovery is credited with saving over 100,000 lives each year.
The remaining half of the prize was shared by two scientists whose work on a drug targeting roundworm infections has nearly eliminated two diseases. Satoshi Ōmura, a microbiologist at Kitasato University in Tokyo, and William C. Campbell from Drew University in New Jersey, developed Avermectin from the Streptomyces bacteria found in soil. Ōmura identified 50 new strains of Streptomyces, while Campbell demonstrated the exceptional effectiveness of a bioactive compound from one strain against parasites in animals. This compound, refined into Avermectin (and its enhanced form, Ivermectin), is the foundation of a drug class that eliminates parasite larvae.
Ivermectin is now widely used to combat parasitic infections, particularly in regions like sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Central and South America, where a third of the global population suffers from parasitic worms. Its success in treating river blindness (onchocerciasis) and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) has brought these diseases close to eradication, a milestone the Nobel committee described as a monumental achievement in medical history.
