This Year's Nobel Chemistry Prize Awarded to US and German Scientists "Huge Impact on Pharmaceutical Research" (Summary)

Development of 'High-Precision Tools for Molecule Fabrication'
Research on Asymmetric Organocatalytic Reactions

This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was announced on the 6th (local time). From the left, Benjamin List from Germany and David MacMillan from the United States.

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Benjamin List (53, Max Planck Institute) from Germany and David MacMillan (53, Princeton University) from the United States.

The Nobel Committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on the 6th (local time) that List and MacMillan were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing a precise tool called "asymmetric organocatalysis" to create molecules. The two scientists will share a prize of 10 million kronor (approximately 1.35 billion KRW).

The Nobel Committee judged that the two scientists developed asymmetric organocatalysis technology in 2000 and continue to lead the field, demonstrating that organocatalysts can be used in many chemical reactions.

They emphasized that researchers have greatly benefited humanity by using organocatalyst technology to more efficiently produce a variety of substances, from new drug compounds to molecules used in solar cells that absorb sunlight to generate electricity.

The Nobel Committee stated, "It has had a tremendous impact on pharmaceutical research and made the field of chemistry more environmentally friendly," adding, "Organocatalysts are inexpensive to produce and eco-friendly."

They also conveyed that the asymmetric organocatalysis developed by them plays the most important role in the pharmaceutical field. Johan ?qvist, chairman of the Nobel Committee's chemistry section, said about asymmetric organocatalysis, "The concept is original and simple," and "Many people wondered, 'Why didn't we think of this earlier?'"

List said about his award news, "I was very surprised," and "I did not expect it at all."

This year's Nobel Prize ceremony will be held online at the end of the year, as was the case last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.