Sweden

Scientists who helped identify Hepatitis C virus win 2020 Nobel Medicine Prize

cde.news desk 5 October 2020, 11:55 · 1 min read

epa08721716 Thomas Perlmann (R), Secretary of the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institut and of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, announces the winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine during a press conference at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, 05 October 2020. (L-R) on the screen are Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M Rice, the three laureates who win the 2020 Nobel Medicine Prize. EPA-EFE/Claudio Bresciani / POOL SWEDEN OUT

Two American and one British-born scientist won the 2020 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for work in identifying the Hepatitis C virus, which causes cirrhosis and liver cancer, the award-giving body said on Monday.

“Prior to their work, the discovery of the Hepatitis A and B viruses had been critical steps forward,” the Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute said in a statement on awarding the prize of 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.1 million).

“The discovery of Hepatitis C virus revealed the cause of the remaining cases of chronic hepatitis and made possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of lives.”