2016 Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science to Be Announced June 19


TAIPEI, TAIWAN--(Marketwired - Jun 17, 2016) - The announcement of the 2016 Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science will commence this June 19. A live stream of the announcement will be available on the prize website (www.tang-prize.org) and YouTube, starting at 10:00 a.m. Taiwan time (GMT+8).

This year is the second awarding of the international prize, which celebrated its inaugural year in 2014. According to the prize foundation's CEO Jenn-Chuan Chern, 20% to 70% more nominations were received this year as compared to 2014, indicating broader recognition and participation from the international community. It also suggests a positive response to the inaugural 2014 prize winners.

The prize in Biopharmaceutical Science recognizes original biopharmaceutical or biomedical research that has led to significant advances towards preventing, diagnosing and/or treating major human diseases to improve human health. As many as three recipients in the category will receive a cash prize of up to US$1.24 million. In addition to the cash prize, a grant of approx. US$311,000 is awarded per category.

Among the five inaugural laureates awarded in 2014, Tasuku Honjo and James P. Allison were recognized in Biopharmaceutical Science for their respective discoveries of the immune inhibitory receptors PD-1 and CTLA-4. Medications developed from their groundbreaking discoveries have been approved by the US FDA, and have seen significant success in the treatment of a subset of cancers, ranging from melanoma to ovarian.

The Tang Prize is an international award founded in 2012 by Samuel Yin which awards achievements in four categories: Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology, and Rule of Law. Yin founded the Tang Prize in a spirit of humanitas inspired by the Nobel Prize, which was founded nearly 100 years previous. He saw that the world today was facing problems categorically different and more global from those we faced just a century ago: climate change, new and dangerous diseases, clashes of cultures and mindsets. He saw also the importance of education, one of the core values of the Tang Prize, in driving social progress.

Beginning with Sustainable Development on June 18, the newest round of awardees will be announced live streaming on June 18-21, 2016, and will receive the medal, diploma, and cash prize at the award ceremony on September 25 in Taipei.

About Tang Prize
Dr. Samuel Yin, chairman of Ruentex Group, founded the Tang Prize in December of 2012 as an extension of the supreme value his family placed on education. Harkening back to the golden age of the Tang Dynasty in Chinese history, the Tang Prize seeks to be an inspiring force for people working in all corners of the world. For more information on the Tang Prize and its laureates, please visit www.tang-prize.org 

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Jocelyn Chen / Blake Brownrigg
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2016 Tang Prize Laureate Announcement in Biopharmaceutical Science will be held on June 19, 2016