Statins pioneer Akira Endo dies aged 90.

The Japanese scientist who pioneered the development of statins, the life-saving medications used by millions, died at the age of 90. 

Akira Endo's crucial work has been compared to the discovery of penicillin. 

The biochemist is reported to have been inspired by Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin, which led him to research mould, or fungi, in his search for new medications. 

In 1973, Prof Endo discovered the first cholesterol-lowering chemical that could lessen the risk of heart disease and strokes.

Prof Endo discovered the first cholesterol-lowering chemical in 1973 that could cut the risk of heart disease and stroke. Prof Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the British Heart Foundation, paid homage to the professor, describing him as "a remarkable scientist". 

This was the predecessor to the invention of statin medications," he told BBC News, adding: "They have utterly changed the prevention of heart disease and stroke."

 "There's very few treatments in medicine that have happened in the past few years that have had such a dramatic impact." 

Unlike Dr. Fleming, his discovery did not earn the professor a Nobel Prize.

"Amazingly, the man who began the process of working out how to deal with the problem of cholesterol - and provided a treatment that benefited and saved the lives of many, many millions of people never got the prize," said Professor Williams. 

"I think that's a shame." Statins are now frequently prescribed by doctors to patients who have suffered a heart attack or are at high risk of developing heart disease or stroke.

The medications are expected to save thousands of lives per year in the United Kingdom alone, and even more globally.

 Cholesterol is a fatty substance produced mostly by the liver and transferred through the bloodstream. People require some cholesterol to sustain good health, but excessive "bad" cholesterol can clog the arteries and disrupt blood flow. Statins help to lower "bad" cholesterol in the blood and keep the arteries free of fatty build-up.