Satoshi Omura

World leader in Bioorganic Chemistry, with pioneering and unmatched expertise and success in discovering bioactive chemicals derived from naturally-occurring microorganisms. He is also recognized as a leading expert in macrolide antibiotics.He has devised many novel methods for isolating, culturing and screening microorganisms, discovering more than 470 compounds, many of them unique. Some of his discoveries are novel anticancer compounds and world-leading drugs in animal and human health. His creation of hybrid antibiotics opened up a completely new field of highly-promising research. Among the compounds he unearthed are the avermectins/ivermectin, one of the world's most important animal and human medicines ever produced, seen to rival penicillin for its beneficial impact on global health - with over 300 million people using the compound annually. For his leading role in the discovery of the avermectins, he has been awarded the highly prestigious Gairdner Global Health Award (2014). Authorship of 1,155 scientific papers, delivery of 140 invited and plenary lectures and editorship of six major texts, including Macrolide Antibiotics: Chemistry, Biology & Practice (Academic Press (1984), 2nd edition (2002)) and The Search for Bioactive Compounds from Microorganisms (Springer-Verlag (1992)), plus co-authorship of 42 books.