Stockholm: British scientist Michael Houghton and American scientists Harvey J Alter and Charles M Rice were jointly awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine on Monday.
The trio were awarded for their work in identifying the Hepatitis C virus, which causes cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The three were honoured for their “decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health problem that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer in people around the world,” the jury said.
“For the first time in history, the disease can now be cured, raising hopes of eradicating Hepatitis C virus from the world population,” the jury said.
The trio will share the Nobel prize sum of 10 million Swedish kronor (about $1.1 million, 950,000 euros).
