Ivermectin: panacea for resource-poor communities?

•Gairdner Global Health Award given for discovery, development, and use of ivermectin.•Ivermectin is one of the world's most successful and promising biomedical compounds.•Administration of ivermectin to entire communities improves health and social welfare.•Donated ivermectin use will soon eliminate river blindness and elephantiasis globally.•Over 300 million poor people take ivermectin annually to treat a range of diseases.•Ivermectin has significant promise to combat a variety of diseases of global concern.•Extensive research is needed to clarify the potential use of ivermectin in human health.•Multidisciplinary, international partnerships hold the key to better public health.

The 2014 Gairdner Global Health Award was conferred for discovery of the unique microorganism that is the sole source of the endectocidal avermectins, and the Public sector/Private sector Partnership that developed innovative biopharmaceuticals with immeasurably beneficial impact on public health worldwide. Ivermectin is already labelled a ‘wonder drug’, essential for campaigns to eliminate two disfiguring and devastating tropical diseases. New uses for it are identified regularly, including possible antibacterial, antiviral, and anticancer potential. Hundreds of millions of people are taking ivermectin to combat various diseases and afflictions, and mass administration of ivermectin in polyparasitised poor communities around the world is increasingly recognised as a mechanism to easily and cost-effectively improve overall health and quality of life for everyone.