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is a Japanese biochemist whose research into the relationship between fungi and cholesterol biosynthesis led to the development of statin drugs, which are some of the best-selling pharmaceuticals in history. He was awarded the 22nd Japan Prize in 2006〔The Science and Technology Foundation of Japan. (Japan Prize official release ), accessed 21 June 2006〕 and the Lasker Award in 2008.〔(Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, 2008: Akira Endo )〕 ==Biography== Endo was born on a farm in Northern Japan and had an interest in fungi even when young, being an admirer of Alexander Fleming. He obtained a BA at Tohoku University (Faculty of Agriculture) in Sendai in 1957 and a PhD in biochemistry at the same university in 1966. From 1957 to 1978 he worked as a research fellow at chemical company Sankyo Co.; initially he worked on fungal enzymes for processing fruit juice. Successful discoveries in this field gained him the credit to spend two years at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine as a research associate (1966-1968),〔 working on cholesterol.〔 His most important work in the 1970s was on fungal extrolites and their influence on cholesterol synthesis. He hypothesised that fungi used chemicals to ward off parasitic organisms by inhibiting cholesterol synthesis. The cell membranes of fungi contain ergosterol in place of cholesterol, allowing them to produce compounds that inhibit cholesterol. Endo studied 6,000 compounds, of which three extrolites from a ''Penicillium'' mold showed an effect. One of them, mevastatin, was the first member of the statin class of drugs. Soon after, lovastatin, the first commercial statin, was found in the ''Aspergillus'' mold. Although mevastatin never became an approved drug, the mevastatin derivative pravastatin did. He was an associate professor and later a full professor (1986-) at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology between 1979 and 1997, and after his official retirement became the president of Biopharm Research Laboratories.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Akira Endo (biochemist)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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