Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - January 28, 2009
Apiradee Treerutkuarkul
Giving the honorary lecture prior to the annual award presentation, Sergio Henrique Ferreira, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, said the chemical industry could do more to advance drug development among low and middle-income countries.
Better research and the study of natural resources such as petroleum and sugar cane, abundant in developing countries, could also lead to crucial discoveries beneficial to sustaining medical and public health development.
"Without a chemical industry, there's no way to progress on drug development," he said.
Dr Ferreira's discovery of a family of peptides in the venom of a Brazilian snake species, Bothrops jararaca, in 1992, led to the development of cox-2 inhibitors, a new class of medicine mainly for treating patients suffering from diabetes and inflammatory and kidney diseases.
The pharmacologist's contribution to science has been recognised worldwide. At present, cox-2 inhibitors are among the most widely used medications for pain and inflammatory relief, saving millions of lives the world over.
Dr Ferreira was also in favour of recent moves by Brazil and Thailand to lower drug prices by enforcing a policy of compulsory licensing, saying it could lead to better access to life-saving medicine for treating cancer, heart disease and HIV/Aids among the poor.
He also said India was a good example of pharmaceutical industry development.
"Drug prices cannot be enormous and should be lowered," he said. "Health problems do not differentiate between rich and poor countries."
Michiaki Takahashi from Japan and China's Yu Yongxi also won awards for their outstanding work in medical and public health development. They and Dr Ferreira were chosen from a total of 49 nominations from 19 countries.
Dr Takahashi, director of the Research Foundation of Microbial Diseases at Osaka University, discovered a chicken pox vaccine which led to a reduction in fatalities, particularly among children, worldwide.
Dr Yu, director emeritus of the National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products in China, has spent 30 years developing a Japanese encephalitis vaccine, regarded as the most effective and safest in protecting children against death and disability caused by the virus.
Since 1988, the vaccine has been distributed to more than 200 million children in China, India, Korea, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Thailand.
Dr Yu's vaccine has been proven to reduce the spread of encephalitis in Asia.
The awardees will receive honorary medals, certificates and a cash award of $50,000 (1.7 million baht) from Their Majesties the King and Queen at the Chakri Maha Prasart Throne Hall in the Grand Palace today.
The Prince Mahidol Award Foundation was established by His Majesty the King in 1992 to commemorate the centenary of the birth of His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol, the King's father. The award has so far gone to 48 individuals who have dedicated themselves to medical and public health development.
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