Discovery and development of artemisinin

Malaria is an infectious disease, which is caused by plasmodium through mosquito biting or transfusing carriers’ blood. Malaria is the main tropical parasitic disease globally, especially in the tropical and subtropical regions. At the end of the last century, nearly one hundred countries were affected each year, nearly 300 million people were infected and nearly one million people died. Tu Youyou, who is from Institute of Chinese Materia Medica (ICMM), Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (current name: China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, CACMS), inspired by the description of antimalarial usage of Qinghao (Artemisia annua L.) in Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies written by Ge Hong, she redesigned a method to extract the active ingredient from Qinghao, and obtained No. 191 sample in October, 1971 that could inhibit rodent malaria and monkey malaria with 100% inhibition. And Tu and her team obtained artemisinin in November, 1972 firstly. The absolute structure of artemisinin was determined by X-ray diffraction as a new sesquiterpene lactone of only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen elements with a specific structure of peroxide bridge. It is a new compound which is totally different from known antimalarial drugs in chemical structure and action mechanism. The clinical performance of artemisinin is fast, efficient, and with low toxicity. At present, artemisinin and its derivatives are the most effective drug for malaria treatment. ACT therapy has been used in almost all countries and regions of malaria endemic areas, and more than one hundred million cases per year are cured. Millions of lives are saved globally by reducing the incidence and mortality of malaria. Artemisinin is a gift from Traditional Chinese Medicine. The discovery of artemisinin is an output of the combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine with modern science and technology, an innovation system engineering integrated of multidisciplinary, together with a group of Chinese scientists’ diligence and wisdom, which is a great contribution to the people’s health. The Chinese government has successively awarded the relevant units participating in the project 11 times, for example the China National Technology Invention Awards, China National Natural Science Awards, China National Science and Technology Progress Awards, etc. The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and the 2016 Highest Science and Technology Awards were awarded to Professor Tu Youyou for her key contributions to the discovery of artemisinin.