Three scientists in their 80s, who developed revolutionary cures for malaria and roundworm related diseases, were on Monday awarded with the 2015 Nobel Prize for Medicine.

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The Nobel Assembly awarded half of the prize to Youyou Tu of China for her groundbreaking work on artemisinin - a malaria drug based on ancient Chinese herbal medicine.

84-year-old Tu, who works as chief professor at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, is the first Chinese woman national to win the Nobel Prize in science.

She made her discovery during the height of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Her work has helped to save millions of lives, which would otherwise have been lost to malaria.

The rediscovery of artemisinin came as part of a secret research code named "573." The project was launched in 1967 by Chairman Mao Tse-tung to research into a more effective cure for malaria, which was killing hundreds of Chinese soldiers fighting for North Vietnam in the Vietnam War. The mosquito-transferred parasite Plasmodium had grown resistant to chloroquine, the most effective malaria drug at the time.

The project that led to the rediscovery of artemisinin involved 500 scientists and more than 50 laboratories. Tu, a herbal expert, studied several ancient Chinese texts for malaria cures. She gathered about 2,000 recipes claiming to cure symptoms common to malaria.

The team finally settled on a recipe from a manuscript called "Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies," from A.D. 340. The cure involved a common Chinese plant called sweet wormwood.

Scientists were required to make an extraction from the plant. However, they ran into problems because they boiled the leaves. Tu re-read the original manuscript and discovered that the extraction was to be done in cold water. Scientists found artemisinin, a chemical active against malaria, when they made the extraction using cold water.

"To say millions of lives have been saved is an understatement," Peter Seeberger, a malaria researcher, said of artemisinin. He added that around 350 million doses of artemisinin-deduced drugs are administered yearly.

Malaria still claims lives and most infections are recorded in tropical regions, particularly Africa. In 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that there were about 198 million malaria infections - 584,000 of these cases resulted in deaths. 

Tu, who reportedly heard of the award on television, said the prize honors all Chinese scientists.

China's Premier Li Keqiang congratulated Tu on Monday for winning the prestigious prize.

"Tu's winning the prize signifies China's prosperity and progress in scientific and technological field, marks a great contribution of traditional Chinese (TCM) to the cause of human health, and showcases China's growing strengths and rising international standing," Li said.

Satoshi Omura of Japan and Irish-born William Campbell were awarded the other half of the Nobel Prize for developing avermectin and ivermectin. These drugs have been instrumental in treating diseases caused by parasitic roundworms such as elephantiasis and river blindness.

The Nobel Jury said avermectin and ivermectin has helped in the production of "a new class of drugs with extraordinary efficacy against parasitic diseases."

"These two discoveries have provided humankind with powerful new means to combat these debilitating diseases that affect hundreds of millions of people annually. The consequences in terms of improved human health and reduced suffering are immeasurable," the jury added.

80-year-old Omura, professor emeritus at Kitasato University, humbly accepted the prize in an interview with the Nobel Foundation. He said he was extremely lucky to have won and thanked all the researchers who contributed to his findings.

Tags2015 Nobel Prize for Medicine, Youyou Tu, Noble Prize, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, artemisinin, Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies, Satoshi Omura, William Campbell, avermectin, ivermectin, traditional Chinese (TCM)