Lasker Prize – for Anti-cancer Drug and Stem Cell Research
The winners of the Lasker Prize in Medicine have been announcedDmitry Tselikov, Compulenta
Five scientists have received prestigious awards for developing a leukemia treatment and a method for producing induced pluripotent stem cells.
The Lasker Prize will be presented on October 2 in New York. Each of the laureates will receive 250 thousand dollars.
Brian Drucker (54, Oregon University of Health and Science), Nicholas Lydon (42, former employee of Novartis) and Charles Sawyers (50, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York) were awarded the prize for the development of the drug Gleevec, which translates chronic myeloid leukemia from an incurable form to a manageable chronic condition. Drucker and Lydon's research, conducted since 1998, led to the development of a drug approved by federal authorities in 2001, while Sawyers managed to overcome the resistance of some patients.
The Award Committee notes that a person who is near death leaves the hospital bed within a week after the first dose of Gleevec.
The prize for Basic medical research was shared by John Gurdon (76, University of Cambridge, UK) and Shinya Yamanaka (47, Kyoto University, Japan, and the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in San Francisco). Their work is of key importance for stem cell research, thanks to which scientists hope to uncover the mystery of some diseases and find new treatments for spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease.
John Gurdon showed back in the 1950s and 60s that DNA from specialized frog cells - skin cells or intestinal cells – could be used to create new tadpoles. This indicates that DNA retains the ability to control the formation of all cells of the body.
His work gave rise to numerous experiments. In 1997, Scottish scientists managed to put Gurdon's findings into practice and clone Dolly the sheep. The creators of Dolly transplanted DNA into an egg, but in 2006, Shinya Yamanaka, without the participation of eggs, was able to reprogram the DNA of ordinary mouse skin cells in such a way that they behave very similar to embryonic stem cells. The following year, he and other scientists reported successes in the field of human cell transformation.
Previously, human stem cells were obtained by growing embryos, which were then destroyed, and this raised ethical questions. Many laboratories are now using a new approach to create so-called induced stem cells.
The award was also awarded to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his support of the healthcare system.
Prepared by the Associated Press.
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