Hong Kong’s Shaw Prize awarded to 2 scientists behind breakthrough study, treatment for cystic fibrosis
- Award foundation praises scientists Paul Negulescu, Michael Welsh for their work on cystic fibrosis
- Two scientists’ contribution to development of European Space Agency’s Hipparcos and Gaia missions recognised
Two scientists who contributed to the study and the treatment of cystic fibrosis were among those announced on Tuesday to have received Hong Kong’s Shaw Prize this year.
Paul Negulescu, senior vice-president of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Michael Welsh, a professor at the University of Iowa, both received the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine for their contributions to the study and treatment of the disease.
According to the Shaw Prize Foundation, they were awarded for “landmark discoveries of the molecular, biochemical, and functional defects underlying cystic fibrosis and the identification and development of medicines that reverse those defects and can treat most people affected by this disorder”.
“Their most important discovery is that they can actually treat a genetic disease like cystic fibrosis without removing the abnormal gene,” said Professor Chan Wai-yee, a council member of the foundation.
The foundation also cited the pair’s work in identifying and developing medicines that could help treat the condition.
“That means they discovered a way of using chemical drugs, which can help the mutated product to perform like a normal product,” he said.