Professor Satoshi Ōmura, Distinguished Emeritus Professor, Kitasato University, has won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Along with his colleague, Dr. William C. Campbell, Drew University, the two were honored for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites. Dr. Campbell and Prof. 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.

Professor Ōmura is an SIMB Fellow and served as Honorary Co-chair of the recent SIMB Conference on Natural Product Discovery and Development in the Post Genomic Era. Dr. Ōmura also served on the Advisory Committee for the SIMB Biotechnology of Microbial Products: Novel Pharmacological and Agrobiological Activities (BMP) conferences.

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was shared with Professor Youyou Tu, China Academy of Traditional Medicine, for her work on Artemisinin to treat malaria. www.nobelprize.org