Revolutionizing Treatments for Blood Cancers and Solid Tumors
TAIPEI, June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On June 16, the Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science announced its 2026 laureates. The prize, whose laureates from previous cycles have subsequently received Nobel Prize honors, has drawn wide international attention. Three leading scientists in the field of cellular immunotherapy, Drs. Steven A. Rosenberg, Michel Sadelain, and Carl H. June, have been named joint laureates "for the discovery and development of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies, which have revolutionized treatment for blood cancers and solid tumors."
2026 Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science Awarded to Three Pioneers of Cellular Immunotherapy
Immunosuppression in the Tumor Microenvironment (TME) can lead to exhaustion of T cells, which are responsible for identifying and attacking cancer cells. Cellular immunotherapy uses a patient's own immune cells, including genetically engineered CAR-T, to recognize and destroy cancer cells, and has emerged as one of the most transformative advances in cancer treatment in recent years. The contributions of the three laureates have laid the foundation for a new era of "living drugs," turning the patient's immune system into a powerful medicine with far-reaching impact.
Since the first FDA approval in 2017, CAR-T therapy has already benefited over 30,000 patients with blood cancers worldwide. These therapies provide life-saving options for patients with recurrent and/or refractory blood cancers. Furthermore, TIL therapy has established a new option for treating advanced solid tumors, especially metastatic melanoma. Recent advances in CAR-T therapy in 2026 have also expanded into areas such as CRISPR-Cas9-based cell engineering, treatment of autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, cardiac injury repair, and research targeting senescence.
Academician Wen-Chang Chang, Chair of the Tang Prize Selection Committee in Biopharmaceutical Science, noted that the Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science recognizes successful drug development, as well as medical and technological research that leads to clinical treatment breakthroughs. In the field of tumor immunology, the inaugural Tang Prize laureates, Drs. James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo, respectively identified CTLA-4 and PD-1 as key inhibitory immune checkpoints, paving the way for the development of antibody drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors and bringing major advances to the treatment of many cancers, particularly certain solid tumors. This year's three laureates specialize in cellular immunotherapy. From Dr. Rosenberg's pioneering clinical work with TILs, to the foundational advances by Dr. Sadelain and Dr. June that brought CAR-T therapy toward maturity and clinical application, the three scientists helped turn the human immune system into a powerful anti-cancer medicine, creating breakthrough treatments for malignant blood diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.
The pioneering work in this field was fundamentally established by Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg, widely known as the "Father of Cancer Immunotherapy." As Chief of the Surgery Branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) since 1974, he has built the foundational clinical framework for adoptive cell therapy (ACT) [1]. In the 1980s, Dr. Rosenberg showed that high-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) could stimulate T cell proliferation and enhance their ability to kill cancer cells, leading to regression of metastatic tumors — the first clinical proof of T cells' anti-cancer potential, leading to the FDA approval of IL-2 as the first cancer immunotherapy agent. He also demonstrated that TILs could induce regression of metastatic melanoma. In the 1990s, he achieved another milestone by receiving the first regulatory approval to introduce foreign genes into humans[3].
Dr. Michel Sadelain and Dr. Carl H. June are two leading pioneers in the development of CAR-T cell therapy. In the early development of antigen receptor engineering, research teams incorporated the intracellular CD3ζ chain[4]— responsible for transmitting activation signals — which Dr Sadelain found to be ineffective on its own. He discovered that integrating an additional CD28 co-stimulatory domain[2] directly into the receptor yielded T cells with therapeutic potential, thereby establishing the core architecture that has become standard framework for all subsequently FDA-approved CAR-T therapies. In addition, Dr. Sadelain identified a molecule named CD19 as a potential target for treating B cell malignancies, which include leukemias and lymphomas, and provided the first demonstration that human CD19 CAR T cells could treat cancer in mice. In 2013, his team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) reported the first significant therapeutic responses to CD19 CAR-T cells in adults with relapsed and refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Dr. June made the key breakthroughs that carried CAR-T therapy toward clinical success. He helped demonstrate that CD28 co-stimulation[2] as essential for T-cell activation and applied the anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 bead expansion protocol, which has become the global manufacturing standard for CAR-T cells. He also engineered CAR constructs incorporating the 4-1BB (CD137) co-stimulatory domain and the T-cell receptor-zeta chain (TCR-ζ) to enhance the proliferation and long-term survival of transferred T cells, while also addressing the challenges of large-scale manufacturing. Dr. June then led the first successful clinical trials of CD19-targeted CAR-T cells, achieving durable remissions in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). His partnership with Novartis culminated in Kymriah becoming the first FDA-approved CAR-T therapy in 2017, marking a major step in bringing CAR-T therapy from research into clinical medicine.
Among the many patients who have benefited from CAR-T therapy, the story of Emily Whitehead is especially compelling. She was the first pediatric patient to receive CAR-T therapy. Diagnosed with ALL at just 5 years old in 2010, she underwent more than 16 months of chemotherapy without success before receiving CAR-T therapy in 2012. After treatment, her cancer went into complete remission, and she has remained healthy for 14 years. Over the years, Emily has continued to share her story publicly, advocating and raising funds for leukemia patients every year. Her recovery has moved and inspired countless patients and families.
Footnotes:
|
[1] Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) is a form of immunotherapy in which a patient's own immune cells are collected, expanded or modified outside the body, and then reinfused into the patient to attack cancer. |
|
[2] CD28 is a co-stimulatory receptor on T cells that provides a crucial "second signal" for T-cell activation, proliferation, and survival. |
|
[3] Because gene-transfer research raises ethical and safety concerns, it had long been subject to strict regulation. The 1990 approval laid an important foundation for later genetically modified immune cell therapies. |
|
[4] The CD3ζ chain is an intracellular signaling chain in T cells that helps initiate T-cell activation and immune-killing responses. |
About the Tang Prize
Since the advent of globalization, humanity has enjoyed unprecedented benefits from advances in civilization and science. Yet a multitude of challenges, such as climate change, the emergence of new infectious diseases, the widening wealth gap, and moral degradation, have surfaced along the way. Against this backdrop, Dr. Samuel Yin established the Tang Prize in December 2012. It consists of four award categories: Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology, and Rule of Law. Every two years, four independent and professional selection committees, comprising many internationally renowned experts, scholars, and Nobel laureates, choose Tang Prize laureates who have made substantive contributions and generated a far-reaching impact on the world, regardless of race, nationality, gender, or religion. A cash prize of NT$50 million (approximately US$1.6 million) is allocated to each category, with NT$10 million (approximately US$320,000) of it being a grant intended for research or educational outreach programs to encourage professionals in every field to examine mankind's most urgent needs in the 21st century, and become leading forces in the sustainable development of human society through their outstanding research outcomes and active civic engagement.
