The award highlights scientific work focused on a question that remained open for a long time in the study of asymmetric molecules. These molecules are at the heart of the recognized research.
According to ANSA, Kagan and Soai were awarded the prize for discovering the nonlinear effect of autocatalysis in organic synthesis.
The finding was described in Nobel coverage as an answer to a longstanding chemical mystery associated with molecules that can be defined as mirror-image or asymmetric.
The research also has a practical impact in the pharmaceutical sector: Al Jazeera reports that the work contributed to the production of medicines.
The award thus places at the center both the scientific problem of asymmetric molecules and the contribution made to understanding it through the study of autocatalysis in organic synthesis, according to the wording reported by ANSA.
ANSA and Al Jazeera reported the award of the Nobel Prize to Kagan and Soai on October 7, 2026. The available information does not specify the institution responsible for the announcement or provide details on how the prize was divided.
The Nobel Prize therefore recognizes research connected to a historic question in chemistry and described in the available reports as also relevant to pharmaceutical production.