Statins (development)

Back to the ideas wall
Who

The first statin was discovered by Akira Endo in Japan; the science of cholesterol and the LDL receptor that made statins possible was worked out by Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein, both American Jewish scientists.

When

1970s–1980s

Where

Japan / Dallas, Texas, USA

Statins are cholesterol-lowering drugs that have prevented millions of heart attacks and strokes. While Akira Endo isolated the first statin, their rationale rests on the discovery of how the body regulates cholesterol via the LDL receptor by Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein, both Jewish American researchers who shared the 1985 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.