Three scientists, Tu Youyou, Japanese microbiologist Satoshi Omura and William Campbell, received the Nobel Prize for medicine on Monday for developing the world's leading malaria-fighting drug and another one that almost ended two devastating tropical diseases.

Tu Youyou, the first-ever Chinese medicine laureate, took the help of ancient texts to come up with artemesinin. She was inspired by the traditional Chinese medicine to found a compound from the wormwood plant that is quite effective against the malaria parasite.

Omura and Campbell have created the drug avermectin, which has almost ended river blindness and lymphatic filarisis, diseases caused by parasitic worms and spread by mosquitoes and flies. The diseases affect millions of people in Africa, Latin America and Asia that leave sufferer blind or disfigured.

The winners in the 80s made the breakthroughs in 1970s and 80s. The Carter Center has termed the scientists 'heroes in the truest sense of the word, saving lives through medicine'.

The medicine award was the first Nobel Prize to be announced. Later this week, winners of physics, chemistry and peace prizes will be announced. The economics prize will be announced on Monday. For now, no date has been set for the literature prize.

The winners will get cash prize as well as a diploma and a gold medal at the award ceremony on December 10, which is the anniversary of the death of prize founder Alfred Nobel.

"The consequences in terms of improved human health and reduced suffering are immeasurable," the committee said.