Dr. Akira Endo, who discovered "Statin".

Dr. Akira Endo, who discovered HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (Statins), was a Distinguished Professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and a Person of Cultural Merit.
Dr. Endo was born in Akita Prefecture in Japan. After studying at the Faculty of Agriculture, Tohoku University, he worked for Sankyo (at that time). During that time, he discovered a type of statin (Compactin) from a substance derived from blue mold, and he made a great contribution to the treatment of hyperlipidemia.
For this achievement, he received the Lasker Award, the highest medical award in the United States.

In fact, I met Dr. Endo in April 2013 when I was working for the Korean subsidiary of a Japanese pharmaceutical company and invited him to give a lecture to Korean doctors.
He was not feeling well with his back, so his wife accompanied him, and although he occasionally used a wheelchair to get around, he was very energetic as he gave his lecture.

Apart from the content of his lecture, I was very much impressed by what Dr. Endo said during a chat.
At the time, he was also a part-time lecturer at a business school of a prominent private university in Japan.
However, he himself emphasized that "success is not something that can be learned in a school lecture" and that "in the end, you have to do everything with your own hands and in a muddled way ".
In fact, his words carry a lot of weight, as he has personally verified the activity of a mind-boggling numbers of substances one by one after setting the target of "finding a substance that lowers cholesterol".

At about the same time that Dr. Endo visited Korea, a book titled "DISCOVERY OF STATIN" was published in Korea. The book, which I was able to obtain, was personally signed by Dr. Endo.

I would like to express my deepest respect to Dr. Endo and at the same time pray for his soul rest in peace.