Satoshi Ōmura

Satoshi Ōmura is a Japanese biochemist whose discovery of avermectins from soil bacteria led to ivermectin and shared the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Avermectins: A family of compounds produced by soil bacteria that have potent activity against nematodes and arthropods. Ōmura isolated the bacterial strains that yielded these compounds.
Kitasato Institute: A Japanese biomedical research institute founded in 1914 by bacteriologist Shibasaburō Kitasato. Ōmura conducted much of his microbial discovery research at this institute.
William C. Campbell: An Irish-born parasitologist who helped develop avermectin into the drug ivermectin. Campbell collaborated with Ōmura’s group to test avermectins against parasites.
Mass drug administration: A public-health strategy that gives medication to an entire at-risk population without individual diagnosis. Ivermectin’s safety and effectiveness enabled community-wide parasite-control programs.
Artemisinin: An antimalarial compound isolated from the plant Artemisia annua. It was the separate discovery recognized alongside Ōmura’s work in the 2015 Nobel Prize.
Ivermectin: An antiparasitic drug derived from avermectin that treats infections caused by several parasites. This drug emerged from the avermectin compounds Ōmura discovered.
Soil microbiology: The study of microorganisms living in soil and their interactions with the environment. Ōmura searched soil microbes for useful natural products.
Shibasaburō Kitasato: A Japanese physician and bacteriologist who co-discovered the bacterium causing bubonic plague and founded the Kitasato Institute. The institute Kitasato founded became Ōmura’s principal research home.
River blindness elimination: Public-health efforts to interrupt transmission of onchocerciasis through treatment and vector control. Ivermectin distribution became a central tool in these campaigns.
Praziquantel: An antiparasitic medicine used chiefly to treat infections caused by flukes and tapeworms. It treats major worm infections through a different drug-development history and mechanism.

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Tu YouyouCompared with: He shared the Nobel with Tu and Campbell for work on a different class of antiparasitic drugs.