The winners of the 19th Pfizer Medical Award, hosted by the National Academy of Medicine of Korea and sponsored by Pfizer Korea, were announced on the 30th.
The Basic Medicine Award was awarded to Professor Seong Hak-jun, Department of Medical Engineering, Yonsei University College of Medicine, the Clinical Medicine Award was awarded to the National Cancer Center Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Cancer Center, Professor Park Joong-won, and the Translational Medicine Award was awarded to Professor Choi Dong-ho of the Department of Surgery, Hanyang University College of Medicine.
The Pfizer Medical Research Award was established in 1999 to discover medical scientists who have contributed to the advancement of Korean medicine and the health and welfare of mankind, and to inspire research motivation in the medical community.
Every year, in the ‘Basic Medicine’, ‘Clinical Medicine’ and ‘Translational Medicine’ categories, the excellence, creativity, science, and contribution of individual papers published within two years of the current year are evaluated, and the best paper is selected and the winner is awarded. announce
From basic research to practical medical research, it is recognized for its value as the most ‘Korean Medical Award’ in that it encourages and supports a wide range of research by domestic medical scientists.
Professor Seong Hak-joon of the Department of Medical Engineering, Yonsei University College of Medicine, said that shape memory polymers (shape-memory polymers) programmed to respond to temperature in order to solve problems such as blood flow disorders and damage to blood vessels that occur due to diameters different from those of existing blood vessels when artificial blood vessels are inserted. Memory polymer) based technology was developed, and using this technology, the world’s first successful transplantation of blood vessels of 3 mm or less was selected as the recipient of the Basic Medicine Award.
This study demonstrates the performance of a graft with an approximate diameter of 2 millimeters and suggests an alternative solution to the problem of vascular damage caused by artificial blood vessel insertion. Professor Sung’s team further emphasized the need for future clinical studies, saying that a study to verify the long-term performance of the y-shape graft in a pig experimental model is planned in the future.
Proton beam radiotherapy vs. radiofrequency ablation for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma: A randomized phase III trial, which was published last year in the ‘Journal of Hepatology’ by Professor Park Joong-won of the Center for Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Cancer of the National Cancer Center. The safety and efficacy of proton therapy (PBT) applied to cancer treatment was confirmed based on a randomized controlled trial comparing the results of proton therapy and radiofrequency ablation.
In addition, the non-inferiority of proton therapy compared to radiofrequency ablation was demonstrated in 3-year and 4-year progression-free survival rates.
Through this study, Professor Park’s team was honored with the Clinical Medicine Award for proving the safety and efficacy of proton therapy and providing clinical data on treatment options for HCC patients.
Professor Dongho Choi of Hanyang University School of Medicine, who was selected as the recipient of the Translational Medicine Award, treated hereditary liver disease by grafting sophisticated gene editing technology and stem cell technology through a thesis (Adenine base editing and prime editing of chemically derived hepatic progenitors rescue genetic liver disease). presented the possibility of
In this study, ‘Low-molecular compound-derived liver progenitor-stem cell-base correction and prime correction technology fusion’, which extracts cells from animal models of hereditary intractable disease and transplants them again after gene correction in vitro, was established as a treatment strategy for animals with tyrosineemia, a hereditary incurable disease. In the model, the survival rate was significantly improved by more than 200% with just one treatment.
Through this result, he was selected as the recipient of this year’s Translational Medicine Award in recognition of the fact that he confirmed the possibility of cell transplantation using accurate gene editing technology in the treatment of genetic liver disease.
The 19th Pfizer Medical Awards Ceremony will be held on November 3rd, and winners will be awarded 30 million won (total 90 million won) and a plaque.
Lim Tae-hwan, president of the National Academy of Medicine of the Republic of Korea, said, “The studies that have won the Pfizer Medical Award are not only academically excellent, but also outstanding achievements that suggest hypotheses about unsolved clinical problems and open up the possibility of new treatments. We hope that it will serve as an opportunity to encourage and inspire people to contribute to the advancement of medicine.”
Dong-wook Oh, President and CEO of Pfizer Korea Pharmaceuticals said, “The 19th Pfizer Medical Award this year is very meaningful as it can discover the research achievements of domestic medical scientists who contribute to the health and welfare of mankind and inspire research motivation.” “Pfizer Korea will continue to pursue ‘innovation that changes the lives of patients’ through excellent vaccines and therapeutics, as well as various activities that can contribute to the development of domestic medical science,” he said.
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