Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has congratulated herbal expert Youyou Tu on winning the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, the first Chinese woman to win any Nobel prize in science.
"Tu's winning the prize signifies China's prosperity and progress in scientific and technological field, marks a great contribution of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to the cause of human health, and showcases China's growing strengths and rising international standing," Li said in a congratulatory letter, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Tu, born in 1930, shared the prize with Irish-born William Campbell and Japan's Satoshi Omura for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against malaria.
The pharmacologist discovered Artemisinin, a drug that has significantly reduced the mortality rates for patients suffering from malaria.
