THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
June 11, 2024 at 18:54 JST
Akira Endo, a biochemist who discovered statin, at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology in Tokyo's Koganei in March 2017 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Akira Endo, a highly decorated biochemist who discovered statin, a cholesterol-fighting substance that has been used for some of the world’s best-selling medicines, died on June 5.
The distinguished professor emeritus at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology was 90.
Born in Akita Prefecture on the northern part of the main island of Honshu, Endo graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture at Tohoku University in 1957 and landed a job at a pharmaceutical company.
In summer 1973, he discovered statin in penicillium, or blue mold, growing on rice.
Statin, which prevents the synthesis of cholesterol and lowers bad LDL cholesterol in the blood, is used for medicines for hyperlipidemia, a disease linked to cerebral and cardiac infarction.
Drugs developed from statin have been sold in more than 100 countries and used by tens of millions of people.
Endo was awarded the Japan Prize in 2006 and the Lasker Award in 2008, which is often presented to future Nobel laureates.
He was selected as a Person of Cultural Merit by the Japanese government in 2011 and was awarded the Canada Gairdner International Award in 2017 for his outstanding contributions to medical science.
Endo was consistently considered a strong candidate for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry or the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
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