META CEO, Mark Zuckerberg celebrates two scientists for their innovative work in cancer treatment.
Immunologists Carl June and Michel Sadelain were announced winners of the prestigious Breakthrough Prize award on Thursday September 14, 2023.
The immunologists engineered T-cells that successfully target and kill cancer cells.
Carl June and Michel Sadelain genetically engineered T-cells, key players in the body’s immune system with synthetic receptors termed Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs) to instruct T-cells to recognise the cancer cells of individual patients.
According to reports, these CAR T-cells have remarkable rates of success against liquid cancers including types of leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.
Meanwhile, for some patients, the tumours have been entirely eradicated and have not returned, years after treatment.