PROVO, Utah - DEC. 9, 2002 - Pharmanex Scientific Advisory Board member Koji Nakanishi was recently awarded one of the international scientific community's highest honors when he was named as a recipient of the 2003 King Faisal International Prize for Science. Dr. Nakanishi is the Centennial Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University.

Established in 1977, the prizes are presented by the King Faisal Foundation headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia "to show appreciation to the dedicated … scientists and scholars who make significant advances in areas that benefit humanity." Each winner receives a $200,000 cash award and a 200-Gram, 22-carat gold medallion and a certificate outlining the work for which the prize is awarded.

According to an announcement in Japan's Nikkei newspaper on November 27, 2002, the award is said to be an "Arabian Nobel prize."

The announcement of the prize states, "Professor Nakanishi, an eminent chemist, has a wide field of scientific accomplishments. His research in biologically active natural products has exceptional scientific and economic value. He has established the properties and elucidated the structures of many chemical compounds including antibiotics, carcinogenic materials, and anticancer products. Professor Nakanishi's recent research concentrates on the interaction of light with the molecules responsible for vision. These studies are likely to accelerate the development of a treatment for macular degeneration which afflicts many elderly people and leads to the loss of sight."

In a congratulatory letter to Dr. Nakanishi, Nu Skin Enterprises' president and chief executive officer, Steven J. Lund, said, "We have been aware of your exceptional abilities for some time as you helped with the development of the Pharmanex® BioGinkgo product. Now, we are delighted that you have been recognized at the international level by the King Faisal Prize; an award that has earned the esteem of scientific and academic communities worldwide."

This award is only the latest in a long list of honors that have heralded a lifetime of accomplishment for Dr. Nakanishi. In 1999 he was awarded one of Japan's highest honors, the title "Person of Cultural Merit" for his breakthrough research in the organic chemistry of natural products. Other awards include the Welch Award in chemistry, the Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy, the Arthur C. Cope Award of the American Chemical Society, and the Nakanishi Prize established jointly by the Chemical Societies of America and Japan. He has received honors from nine countries. Dr. Nakanishi has published more than 650 papers and authored, co-authored or edited nine books, including an autobiography published by the American Chemical Society.

For more information, go to the King Faisal Foundation Web site at www.kff.com.