Taipei – September 19, 2026 -- The 2026 Tang Prize Award Ceremony convened in Taipei on September 18, honoring six laureates across four categories including three scientists whose work led to FDA-approved CAR T-cell cancer therapies now used worldwide.
Three biopharmaceutical laureates trace a four-decade path from lab discovery to approved cancer drugs
Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg, who joined remotely, cited his team's work four decades ago showing that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) taken from patients' own tumors could drive cancer regression, establishing the concept of a patient's lymphocytes as a 'living drug.' That research laid groundwork for later T cell receptor (TCR) and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapeutic strategies now deployed clinically.
Dr. Michel Sadelain said the 1990s proposal to target CD19 with CAR T cells was rejected by most of academia and industry, forcing his team to develop the approach independently. His group treated its first patient in 2007, a decade before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first CD19-targeted CAR therapies in 2017.
Dr. Carl H. June said the metric for early clinical trial patients was not scientific elegance but additional time with family, adding that treatment accessibility for patients who need it must factor into how success is measured.
Ceremony marks first Tang Prize event since founder's death
This was the first Tang Prize Award Ceremony since the passing of founder Dr. Samuel Yen-Liang Yin, marked with a commemorative video. Dr. Chung-Yao Yin, Chairman of the Tang Prize Foundation, said the framework his father established will continue to guide the prize, while Academician Chi-Huey Wong, President of the Tang Prize Selection Committee, said all four category committees maintained objective and professional selection standards.
Sustainable Development laureate draws parallel to ozone crisis response
Professor Susan Solomon, the 2026 Tang Prize Laureate in Sustainable Development, said today's environmental challenges may appear as intractable as ozone depletion once did, but a combination of science, public engagement, industry participation and policy previously resolved that crisis. She expressed hope for a similar outcome in safeguarding the environment now.
Sinology and Rule of Law laureates round out the 2026 honorees
Professor Ge Zhaoguang, the Sinology laureate, said the field has become global, with perspectives from different regions functioning as mirrors revealing a multifaceted China, pointing to synthesis of East and West as the path forward. Professor Bruce Ackerman, the Rule of Law laureate, recalled his upbringing in an impoverished New York City neighborhood in the 1950s and his subsequent work at Harvard influenced by John Rawls, noting he continues researching threats to the global rule of law.