2015 Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to 3 scientists for drug discoveries from nature

Discovering antidotes and treatments from common to deadly diseases is a major breakthrough. Thanks to these three scientists who found a cure to get rid of parasitic diseases that has been a plague to mankind for centuries.

The surprising announcement was made Monday morning in Stockholm by Urban Lendahl, Secretary for the Nobel Prize Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Their drug therapies "have revolutionized the treatment of some of the most devastating parasitic diseases," the Nobel Committee of Karolina Institute in Stockholm said in announcing the winners.

"These two discoveries have provided humankind with powerful new means to combat these debilitating diseases that affect hundreds of millions of people annually," the Nobel Committee said in a statement. "The consequences in terms of improved human health and reduced suffering are immeasurable" because parasitic diseases "represent a huge barrier to improving human health and well-being."

Parasitic diseases transmitted by insects such as river blindness brought by black flies and malaria by mosquitoes are deadly threats to an approximate one-third of the world's population, mainly among the poor in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, according to the New York Times.

Avermectin, the parent of Ivermectin, was developed by Dr. Campbell and Dr. Omura. It's a medicine that almost gets rid of river blindness and radically lessens the incidence of filariasis that causes disfigurement and swelling of the lower extremities known as elephantiasis.

Artemisinin and Ivermectin are both included in the list of World Health Organization of important medicines are supplied free or at a low price. Any active patents on the drugs, the Nobel Committee claimed they have no knowledge of. Merck had profited profusely from the use of Ivermectin in domestic and farm animals that by 1987, he distributed the miraculous drug to disease-affected people because those who needed it most cannot afford it.

The Chinese traditional medicine inspired Dr. Tu in discovering Artemisinin, a drug that is now a part of standard anti-malarial treatment and has since then reduced the mortality rates from the disease.

Dr. William C. Campbell and Dr. Satoshi Omura shared The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015 for their discoveries regarding a new and different therapy against the infectious roundworm parasites. Another scientist who shared the recognition is Dr. Youyou Tu for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against chilly malaria, as reported by Fortune.

Dr. Tu is the first Chinese Nobel laureate in medicine and drew her discovery from her original training in traditional Chinese medicine. The source of her discovered drug was the wormwood plant that destroys the persistent malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum.

The methods used and still employed today, include chemical techniques and biological analysis to separate natural compounds within a vitro anti-parasitic activity, purifying them and solving their novel chemical structures. This initial step is called bioactivity-directed fractionation.