Ivrea 1

Ivermectin is a semi-synthetic anthelmintic drug derived from avermectins, a class of macrocyclic lactones produced by the soil bacterium Streptomyces avermitilis. [1] Discovered in the 1970s through collaborative efforts led by Satoshi Ōmura at the Kitasato Institute in Japan and William C. Campbell at Merck & Co., it targets invertebrate glutamate-gated chloride channels, inducing paralysis and death in parasites by hyperpolarizing nerve and muscle cells. [2] [3] The compound's development earned Ōmura and Campbell the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries revolutionizing treatments for parasitic infections like river blindness (onchocerciasis) and lymphatic filariasis. [4]