Deputy Director and Special Professor of the Institute of Advanced Studies, Tasuku Honjo discovered the immunosuppressive molecule "PD-1" that acts as a brake on immune activity and suppresses the function of immunity on the surface of immune cells that attack foreign substances in the body.This "PD-1" was applied to cancer treatment for the first time in the world, leading to the development of the cancer treatment drug "Opdivo (nivolumab)".Opdivo is currently being used as a breakthrough treatment for multiple cancers, including lung cancer.It has a great impact on the immune field and cancer treatment field, and is expected to have a ripple effect on the life science field and the pharmaceutical industry in the future.

　At a meeting after receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Professor Tasuku Honjo said, "I don't think there is a future for a country that does not invest in life science. Actually, investment in life science in Japan was made when I was at the Council for Science and Technology Policy. About 30%, more than half in the United States. Most of the big countries in the world are investing more than half of the science because life science is the next science, but as far as I know, that is the case in Japan. In terms of points, at the policy-making stage, we are still stuck in the old "long-high serious" type of thinking. Science is an investment in the future, and if we spend more money on what we are making now, we will still be late. I think I will take it, "he emphasized the importance of Japan's efforts in life science research in the future.

Reference: [Kyoto University] Comments from Deputy Director Tasuku Honjo and Special Professor