HX06 A Japanese therapeutic hole in one!

Abstract Ivermectin, often hailed as a ‘wonder drug’, owes its discovery to a groundbreaking collaboration in the 1970s between Japanese scientist Satoshi Ōmura and American parasitologist William Campbell. Inspired by the potential of natural compounds like antibiotics, Ōmura developed methods to screen soil samples for promising medicinal agents. One such sample, collected in 1971 from a golf course in Kawana, Japan, proved revolutionary. From this soil, a bacterial culture was isolated, leading to the discovery of ‘avermectin’. This compound was refined into ivermectin, a pair of derivatives over 25 times more potent than existing treatments for parasitic worm infections. Beyond worms, ivermectin demonstrated effectiveness against mites, ticks and botflies, paving the way for its launch as a veterinary treatment in 1981. The story did not end there. Ivermectin’s potential as a human therapy emerged with its application to river blindness (onchocerciasis), a debilitating disease afflicting millions. With no antibacterial or antiviral activity and minimal adverse effects, it became an ideal treatment. It was approved in 1987 under the name Mectizan. Merck made an extraordinary commitment: to donate as much ivermectin as needed for as long as necessary to eliminate river blindness globally. Through the Mectizan Donation Programme – still the largest drug donation initiative in history – over 2 billion treatments have been provided. Ōmura and Campbell’s transformative work was rightfully celebrated with the 2015 Nobel Prize for Medicine, recognizing their immeasurable impact on human health and reduced suffering. Today, ivermectin continues to shine in dermatology. In Europe and the UK, it plays a key role in managing scabies and head lice, where resistance to topical treatments is a growing challenge. Recently licensed for scabies treatment in the UK, ivermectin is available as 3-mg tablets, dosed at 200 μg kg−1 with food. As it does not kill eggs, a second dose after 7 days is recommended to target newly hatched mites. From golf course dirt to global health hero, ivermectin proves that sometimes, the best medical breakthroughs are hiding under our feet – just waiting for the right scientist to tee them up. This ‘mitey drug’ has once again proven its worth, offering hope and effective care for patients of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds battling scabies – a disease that knows no boundaries.