Photo:Tu Youyou
Ancient Chinese texts inspired Tu Youyou to search for her Nobel-prize winning medicine
© Nobel Media AB. Photo: A. Mahmoud
2015 Nobel Medicine Prize to Malaria and roundworm parasite researchers
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015 was divided, one half to Tu Youyou “for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria, and the other half jointly to William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ômura “for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites”.
William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura discovered a new drug, Avermectin, the derivatives of which have radically lowered the incidence of River Blindness and Lymphatic Filariasis, as well as showing efficacy against an expanding number of other parasitic diseases.
Tu Youyou discovered Artemisinin, a drug that has significantly reduced the mortality rates for patients suffering from Malaria.
After studies of traditional herbal medicines in the 1970’s, Youyou Tu managed to extract artemisinin, a substance which inhibits the malaria parasite. Drugs based on artemisinin have led to the survival and improved health of millions of people.
Source and more info: www.nobelprize.org