Satoshi Ōmura
Satoshi Ōmura | |
|---|---|
大村 智 | |
Ōmura in Stockholm, December 2015 | |
| Born | 12 July 1935 Nirasaki, Yamanashi, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Alma mater | University of Yamanashi (BS) Tokyo University of Science (MS, ScD) University of Tokyo (PhD) |
| Known for | Avermectin and Ivermectin Discovery of more than 480 new compounds |
| Awards | Japan Academy Prize (1990) Koch Gold Medal (1997) Ernest Guenther Award in the Chemistry of Natural Products (2005) Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry (2010) Gairdner Global Health Award (2014) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2015) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
| Institutions | Kitasato University Wesleyan University |
| Academic advisors | Koji Nakanishi Max Tishler |
Satoshi Ōmura (大村 智, Ōmura Satoshi; [oːmɯɾa saꜜtoɕi]; born 12 July 1935) 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.