On 16 November 2023, the Prince Mahidol Award (PMA) Foundation under the Royal Patronage announced the 32th Prince Mahidol Award Laureates for 2023.

This year's results are as follows:

In the field of Medicine, Professor Napoleone Ferrara, M.D. from USA / Italy won the prize for his discovery of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the subsequent development of Bevacizumab as a treatment for highly vascularized, aggressive cancers and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

In the field of Public Health, Dr. Barry H. Rumack, M.D. from USA won the prize for his creation of the Rumack–Matthews nomogram that has allowed doctors all over the world to appropriately diagnose paracetamol toxicity.

On this occasion, H.E. Mr. Paolo Dionisi, Ambassador of Italy to Thailand, expressed his gratitude, feeling honored that for the first time a fellow Italian national has been acknowledged for the latter's contributions in international medicine. Such recognition, he underlined, reflected and further promoted Italy's medical potential. The Ambassador also highlighted Rome's readiness in supporting the exchange of medical studies between Thai and Italian students.

In addition, on behalf of the US Ambassador, Mr. Dick Custin, Counsellor for Public Affairs, also expressed his appreciation for the announcement and was proud that an increasing number of American nationals have been recognized by the prestigious Award for their acheivements. The representative of the Embassy also underscored the long-existing cordial relations between Thailand and the US with commitment to further enhance their close cooperation in public health in the future.

The Prince Mahidol Award Foundation under the Royal Patronage was established on 1 January 1992 in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla. With Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn as the President, the Foundation annually presents two Prince Mahidol Awards to individual(s) or institution(s) with outstanding and exemplary contributions to the advancement of the international medical and public health services. Each Award consists of a medal, a certificate, and a prize to the sum of 100,000 USD.

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will preside over the Presentation Ceremony of the Prince Mahidol Award 2023 at the Chakri Throne hall on 24  January 2024 at 16.30 hours.  Prior to the Ceremony, Siriraj Hospital, as a founder of the Prince Mahidol Award, will invite the 2023 Prince Mahidol Award Laureates to give lectures on their achievements on 23 January 2024.

In addition to 92 nominations from 31 countries in 2023, the Scientific Advisory Committee also meticulously reviewed past applications from 2020 – 2022 before submitting a short list of candidates to the International Award Committee for the latter’s recommendation to the Board of Trustees, which had a meeting on 1 November 2023, presided over by H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, to make the final selection for the Prince Mahidol Award 2023.

For over the past 31 years, the Prince Mahidol Award has been conferred to 94 individuals, groups of individuals and institutions. Among the Laureates, 4 were Thai nationals. In 1996, the Prize in Medicine was awarded to both Professor Dr. Prasong Tuchinda for studying the effects of Dengue virus to children with disabilities with dengue hemorrhagic fever, and Dr. Suchitra Nimmannitya for identifying the severity classification of dengue hemorrhagic fever. In addition, the 2009 Award in Public Health was conferred to Dr. Wiwat Rojanapithayakorn for his project to promote the use of condom to prevent the spread of HIVs, and Mr. Mechai Viravaidya for his communication campaign to disseminate the use of condoms.

The following Prince Mahidol Laureates have won the Nobel Prize at a later date:

(1) Professor Barry J. Marshall from Australia received the Prince Mahidol Award in the field of Public Health in 2001 and the Nobel Prize in the field of Medicine in 2005 for the discovery of the new bacterium identified as Helicobacter pylori that caused severe gastritis and its sensitivity to particular antibacterial drugs;

(2) Professor Harald Zur Hausen from Germany received the Prince Mahidol Award in the field of Medicine in 2005 and the Nobel Prize in the field of Medicine in 2008 for the discovery of the human papilloma virus HPV16 and HPV18 from the cancer tissue and elucidated how the viruses turn normal cells into cancer cells;

(3) Professor Dr. Satoshi Omura from Japan received the Prince Mahidol Award in the field of Medicine in 1997 and the Nobel Prize in the field of Medicine in 2015 for the discovery and development of various pharmaceuticals originally occurring in microorganisms. His research group isolated a strain of Streptomyces Avermitilis that produce the anti-parasitical compound avermectin which contributed to the development of the drug ivermectin that is currently used against river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, and other parasitic infections;

(4) Professor Tu You You, a member of the China Cooperative Research Group on Qinghaosu and its Derivatives as Antimalarials from China, received the Prince Mahidol Award in the field of Medicine in 2003 in an organisational category and the Nobel Prize in the field of Medicine in 2015 for the discovery of Qinghaosu as a new drug for treatment of the P.falciparum malaria;

(5) Sir Gregory Paul Winter from the United Kingdom received the Prince Mahidol Award in the field of Medicine in 2016 and the Nobel Prize in the field of Chemistry in 2018 for his pioneership in the field of antibody engineering and modification technology. He invented techniques to humanise antibodies for therapeutic uses, which later led to the creation of cutting-edge therapeutic drugs;

(6)  Professor Dr. Katalin Karikó from Hungary/the United States of America and Professor Drew Weissman from the United States of America received the Prince Mahidol Award in the field of Medicine in 2021 and the Nobel Prize in the field of Medicine in 2023 for their timely research on the development of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in response to the pandemic, making it possible to reduce the infection rate and severe illness. Their studies also serve as an important tool to contain the spread of the virus around the world, proving to be beneficial to public health and the lives of millions of patients around the world.