France’s Henri Kagan, Japan’s Kenso Soai win 2026 Nobel Chemistry Prize
Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. Their research explains how homochirality emerges in nature, which has significant implications for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Why it matters
This discovery provides a fundamental understanding of molecular asymmetry, which is critical for the development and production of modern medicines.
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to France's Henri B. Kagan and Japan's Kenso Soai “for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis,” the Nobel Committee announced.Kagan and Soai were discovered how how homochirality can emerge spontaneously. Some molecules, including amino acids, exist as two mirror-image variants, but organisms contain only one. For decades, chemists struggled to understand how this asymmetry could arise.Kagan made a breakthrough in 1986 by finding a way to manipulate reactions to produce an excess of one mirror image. Soai designed a reaction with the potential to become homochiral in 1995 and, in 2003, achieved a reaction that formed only one mirror image. Their discoveries have been decisive for pharmaceutical manufacturing.Discovery by Kagan and Soaipress-chemistryprize2026The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 was awarded jointly to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M.
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