Trio wins chemistry Nobel for work on antibody drugs, smart enzymes

Pictures of the 2018 Nobel Prize laureates for chemistry: Frances H. Arnold of the United States, George P. Smith of the United States and Gregory P. Winter of Britain are displayed on a screen during the announcement at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in Stockholm, Sweden, October 3, 2018. Jonas Ekstromer/TT News Agency/via REUTERS

STOCKHOLM/LONDON (Reuters) - Two Americans and a Briton won the 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry on Wednesday for harnessing the power of evolution to generate novel proteins used in everything from environmentally friendly detergents to cancer drugs.

The fruits of this work include the world's top-selling prescription medicine -- the antibody injection Humira sold by AbbVie for treating rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.