RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Professor Tadamitsu Kishimoto of the Osaka University received today the King Faisal International Prize 2017 for Medicine from King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia at a glittering ceremony here in the presence of an elite gathering of princes, ministers, top officials, thought leaders, scholars, and scientists.
Kishimoto, who is a Professor at the university's Immunology Frontier Research Center, and Emeritus Professor at Osaka University, Japan, was recognized with the prestigious prize for his prominent role in developing a novel biologic therapy for autoimmune diseases.
On the occasion, Prof. Kishimoto said: "The King Faisal International Prize deserves to be commended for encouraging efforts in the knowledge and research arena around the world. I am proud to be a recipient of this renowned prize, which has this year helped draw attention to the importance of immunology. This award will help further enrich research based initiatives to understand more about the human immune system."
A world-renowned immunologist, Prof. Kishimoto, through his work of more than 30 years, is responsible for discovering interleukin-6 (IL-6), its receptor and signaling pathways. He established the physiological function of the interleukin-6 (IL-6) pathway and its role in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Subsequently, he developed an interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor-blocking antibody into a biological therapy, leading the clinical development of this therapy towards the first approval for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Professor Tadamitsu Kishimoto is also a recipient of the Order of Culture from the Emperor of Japan in 1998 and Royal Decoration from the Kingdom of Thailand in 2012, apart from several other honours.
Launched by the King Faisal Foundation and granted for the first time in 1979, the King Faisal International Prize recognizes the outstanding works of individuals and institutions in a number of key areas. Scientists who were awarded the King Faisal International Prize have gone on to receive other prestigious awards in following years; for example 18 King Faisal International Prize laureates went on to receive the Nobel Prize, while 13 won the Gairdner Foundation International Awards, 11 received the American National Medals of Science, and 9 were awarded the Lasker Medical Award; among many other distinguished prizes.
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