Stockholm: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to James P. Allison of the United States and Tasuku Honjo of Japan. The awards were given to them on Monday for their work on unleashing the body’s immune system to attack cancer.
Before Dr Allison and Dr Honjo discovered immunotherapy, cancer treatment consisted of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal treatments.
Hailing their accomplishment, the Nobel Committee stated that they have established “an entirely new principle for cancer therapy.”
Ipilimumab (brand name Yervoy), nivolumab (Opdivo) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) are the drugs based on their work.