Illustration of the Japanese microbiologist and biochemist Satoshi Omura (born 1935). Omuras research has centred on the isolation of biologically active compounds from soil bacteria. He discovered new strains of bacteria and developed techniques for growing them in laboratory cultures. Over his career Omura has discovered over 470 compounds, many of which have been shown to have a pharmaceutical benefit. A substance extracted from a bacterium that Omura discovered was developed into drugs (avermectins) to treat parasitic infections including river blindness and elephantiasis. Avermectins have treated hundreds of millions of people. Omura was awarded a share of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with William C. Campbell for their work on avermectins and Tu Youyou for her work on antimalarial drugs.