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 shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Tu Youyou and with William C. Campbell for their role in the discovery of the world's first endectocide, ivermectin, 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.
Satoshi Ōmura was born in Nirasaki, Yamanashi, Japan, in 1935, the second son of Ōmura family. After graduating from the University of Yamanashi in 1958, he was appointed to science teacher at Tokyo Metropolitan Sumida Tech High School. In 1960, he became an auditor of Koji Nakanishi's course at Tokyo University of Education, one year later, he enrolled in the Tokyo University of Science (TUS) and studied sciences. Ōmura received his M.S. degree from TUS and his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Tokyo (1968, a Dissertation PhD) and a Ph.D. in Chemistry at TUS (1970).
Since 1965 Ōmura served at Kitasato Institute system. From 1970 to 1990, he also became a part-time lecturer at Tokyo University of Science.
In 1971 while he was a visiting professor at Wesleyan University, he consulted the chairman of the American Chemical Society, Max Tishler, at an international conference. Together they successfully acquired research expenses from Merck & Co. Ōmura was considering continuing his research in the United States, but ultimately he decided to return to Japan.
In 1973, he became a director of the antibiotic laboratory at Kitasato University, and he also started collaborative research with Merck & Co.
In 1975, he became professor of Kitasato University School of Pharmacy. Meanwhile, the Ōmura laboratory raised many researchers and produced 31 university professors and 120 doctors.
At present date, Ōmura is professor emeritus at Kitasato University and Max Tishler Professor of Chemistry at Wesleyan University.
Satoshi Ōmura is known for the discovery and development of various pharmaceuticals originally occurring in microorganisms. He was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with William C. Campbell for discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites. More precisely, his research group isolated a strain of Streptomyces avermitilis that produce the anti-parasitical compound avermectin. Campbell later acquired these bacteria and developed the derived drug ivermectin that was commercialised for veterinary use in 1981, later put to human use against Onchocerciasis in 1987–88 with the name Mectizan, and is used against river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, scabies, other parasitic infections.
Since the 1970s, Ōmura has discovered more than 480 new compounds, of which 25 kinds of drugs and reagents are in use. Examples include andrastin, herbimycin, neoxaline as well as:
a specific inhibitor of protein kinase named staurosporine;
a proteasome inhibitor named lactacystin;
a fatty acid biosynthesis inhibitor named cerulenin;
Furthermore, compounds having a unique structure and biological activity discovered by Omura are drawing attention in drug discovery research, and new anticancer drugs and the like have been created.
S. Omura; Y. Iwai; A. Hirano; A. Nakagawa; J. Awaya; H. Tsuchya; Y. Takahashi; R. Masuma (April 1977). "A new alkaloid AM-2282 OF Streptomyces origin. Taxonomy, fermentation, isolation and preliminary characterization". The Journal of Antibiotics. 30 (4): 275–82. doi:10.7164/ANTIBIOTICS.30.275. ISSN 0021-8820. PMID 863788. Wikidata Q28279608.
R. W. Burg; B. M. Miller; E. E. Baker; et al. (March 1979). "Avermectins, new family of potent anthelmintic agents: producing organism and fermentation". Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 15 (3): 361–7. doi:10.1128/AAC.15.3.361. ISSN 0066-4804. PMC 352666. PMID 464561. Wikidata Q24598202.
D A Hopwood; F Malpartida; H M Kieser; et al. (1 April 1985). "Production of 'hybrid' antibiotics by genetic engineering". Nature. 314 (6012): 642–644. doi:10.1038/314642A0. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 3857464. Wikidata Q59071761.
H Ikeda; T Nonomiya; M Usami; T Ohta; Satoshi Ōmura (1 August 1999). "Organization of the biosynthetic gene cluster for the polyketide anthelmintic macrolide avermectin in Streptomyces avermitilis". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 96 (17): 9509–9514. Bibcode:1999PNAS...96.9509I. doi:10.1073/PNAS.96.17.9509. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 22239. PMID 10449723. Wikidata Q33871234.
Masahiko Hayashi; Mun-Chual Rho; Akiko Enomoto; et al. (4 November 2002). "Suppression of bone resorption by madindoline A, a novel nonpeptide antagonist to gp130". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 99 (23): 14728–14733. Bibcode:2002PNAS...9914728H. doi:10.1073/PNAS.232562799. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 137487. PMID 12417753. Wikidata Q34379185.