2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded to Kagan and Soai for Chirality Breakthrough

French chemist Henri B. Kagan and Japanese scientist Kenso Soai have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, honoured for solving the enduring mystery of why nature consistently favours a single form over the mirror-image alternative for certain molecules.

While many molecules are capable of existing in two mirror-image forms, one form predominantly prevails in nature, a phenomenon known as homochirality, which has long challenged chemists to explain.

Kagan and Soai demonstrated that chemical reactions could be directed toward producing one molecular form rather than the other, work the Nobel committee described as crucial to sectors including pharmaceutical manufacturing.

“They have enabled chemists to drive chemical reactions that lead to homochirality,” the jury added.

Asymmetric catalysis, a key area within this field, had already been honoured with a Nobel Prize in 2001.

Kagan, professor emeritus at Paris-Saclay University, was not among the recipients on that occasion despite being widely viewed as one of the fathers of the technique; the omission triggered protests from France’s Research Ministry at the time.

Soai, 76, learned of the award while out shopping near his home.

‘Most incredible day of my life’

“This is the most incredible day of my life,” the laureate stated in a telephone interview with the Nobel Foundation.

The professor at the Tokyo University of Science continued: “I think our prize should lead people to recognise the importance of molecular chirality. I am therefore particularly happy about that.”

Much like hands, certain molecules, known as chiral molecules, can exist in either “right-handed” or “left-handed” forms.

These forms possess identical physical properties but can exhibit significantly different biological effects.

“Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai have provided a solution to a chemical mystery that is over a century old: how homochirality can emerge spontaneously. The chemical reactions they have developed are spectacular,” said Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for chemistry.

“Their discoveries have been decisive for chemists who design reactions for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals,” he added.

Literature prize on Thursday

The Nobel Prize in chemistry was first awarded in 1901, with Jacobus Henricus van ‘t Hoff from the Netherlands honoured for discovering the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions.

In 1911, the French scientist Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in chemistry, eight years after sharing the physics prize, becoming the first person to win Nobel Prizes in two scientific fields.

This accolade in chemistry represents the third of the 2026 Nobel science prizes to be awarded.

On Monday, American psychiatrist and neurologist Karl Deisseroth and his German colleagues Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel received the honour in medicine for their work in the field of optogenetics.

Francis Halzen from Belgium won the 2026 Nobel physics prize on Tuesday for groundbreaking work using Antarctic ice to capture particles originating in the cosmos.

Beyond its status as one of the world’s most prestigious awards, the Nobel winner receives a diploma, a gold medal and a cheque for 12 million kronor – €1 million.

After chemistry, the literature prize will be announced on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will follow on Friday, and the economics prize will bring the Nobel award season to a close on 12 October.

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