Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai win 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

French scientist Henri B. Kagan and Japan's Kenso Soai have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for solving a century-old mystery regarding biological asymmetry and how molecules form mirror images.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday that the two researchers were recognized for their work on non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. According to the Nobel Committee, Kagan and Soai provided a solution to the mystery of "homochirality" — the process by which living organisms exclusively use one version of a "chiral" molecule rather than its mirror image.

While laboratory reactions typically produce a 50-50 mix of mirror-image molecules, the laureates developed methods to produce much more of a desired version. BBC News reported that this discovery is particularly significant for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, as one version of a drug molecule may provide therapeutic effects while its mirror image could be harmful or do nothing at all. Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, described the developed chemical reactions as "spectacular."

Henri B. Kagan, affiliated with Université Paris-Sud, discovered a new way to manipulate chemical reactions in 1986 to create an excess of one mirror image. Online Khabar and BBC News noted that Kenso Soai, of the Tokyo University of Science, advanced this research in 1995 and eventually succeeded in 2003 in controlling a reaction that produced only one of the two possible mirror images. This was the first time such a result had been achieved in a lab outside of natural biological processes.

The laureates will share a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor. Speaking via phone to the press conference, Soai described the announcement as one of the most exciting days of his life. Euronews reported that the official award ceremony is scheduled for 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.

Background

The 2026 Nobel announcements began earlier this week with the prizes for medicine and physics. Following today's chemistry announcement, the Nobel Prizes for literature, peace, and economics are scheduled to be revealed in the coming days.