2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded for ‘mirror image’ molecule research, with impact on pharmacology

Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai were awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for “the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.” Kagan, 95, and Soai, 76, solved a chemical mystery: Some molecules exist in the world that are mirror images of one another. This is a phenomenon known as chirality, from the Greek word from hand (as hands are mirror images of one another). Amino acids are among chiral molecules, and a living organism can only contain one of the versions. The other mirror molecule is found rarely elsewhere in nature. How such imbalance could occur was not understood. The two scientists developed a reaction in which the result was its own catalyst, and the power was such that it selected one of the two variants, though some of the other variant was created initially as a byproduct. “This is probably the coolest experiment in organic chemistry,” said Peter Somfai, a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, referencing the Soai reaction. “I’m very excited to receive this very nice news about the Nobel Prize,” said Soai, calling into the award ceremony at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, from his native Hiroshima, Japan. “Of course this is one of the most exciting days of my life. I am very glad to share the award with professor Kagan.” This can have an important impact in pharmacology, as more than half clinically employed drugs are chiral. For instance novrad, a cough medicine, and darvon, a painkiller, are mirror images of one another (hence their mirror names, too). There have been 202 award winners since the first chemistry prize was awarded in 1901, of which 8 have been women. However, only 200 individuals won the award, as both Frederick Sanger and Barry Sharpless have been awarded twice. The youngest recipient was 35, the oldest 97. The award has been given 118 times: 63 times to a single individual, and has been shared among two winners 26 times, and among three (the maximum allowed by the Nobel statute) 29 times.