Kagan and Soai win the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on 7 October to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai “for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis”. The Academy’s official release says their work showed how homochirality can emerge spontaneously—how one mirror-image form of a molecule can become dominant.

Chirality is especially important in drug development because two mirror-image molecules can have different biological effects. In 1986 Kagan introduced a method that produced a larger excess of one form than previously thought possible. Soai described his autocatalytic reaction in 1995 and in 2003 reported a process that formed only one of the two mirror-image versions.

The prize is worth 12 million Swedish kronor, shared equally by the two laureates. The industrial importance lies in more precise and effective production of pharmaceutical compounds, though the award is not approval of a particular medicine. Related coverage examines the joint AI science vision endorsed by 17 countries and Microsoft’s experimental biology AI system. The Nobel Peace Prize is due on 9 October and the economics prize on 12 October.