2009 Lasker Awards Honor Trailblazers in Medical Research and Public Service:

John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka, for Breakthrough Research in Nuclear
Reprogramming and Stem Cells

Brian J. Druker, Nicholas B. Lydon and Charles L. Sawyers, for Lifesaving
Discoveries in Treatment of Leukemia

Michael R. Bloomberg, for Landmark Policy and Philanthropic Initiatives to
Reduce Tobacco Use and Foster Public Health
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, which for 64 years has championed the
greatest breakthroughs in medical research, today announced the winners of the
2009 Lasker Awards for outstanding accomplishments in basic medical and clinical
medical research, and public service. The three awards-recognized as the most
prestigious medical research awards in the United States today- honor six
visionaries whose insight and courage has led to dramatic advances that will
prevent disease and prolong life. (View a two-minute overview video.)

John Gurdon of Cambridge University and Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University will
receive the 2009 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for breakthrough
discoveries into the process that instructs specialized adult cells to form stem
cells. Brian J. Druker of Oregon Health & Science University, Nicholas B. Lydon,
formerly of Novartis, and Charles L. Sawyers of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center will receive the 2009 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for
groundbreaking work on the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia. New York City
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will receive the 2009 Mary Woodard Lasker Public
Service Award for his bold policy initiatives that set a world standard for
using public health concerns to propel government action, and for advancing the
public`s health through enlightened philanthropy.

"The 2009 Lasker Awards underscore the ways in which our commitment to medical
research opens up new areas of inquiry, and enables science-based decision
making to improve the public`s health," said Maria Freire, President of the
Lasker Foundation. "All six Laureates have played crucial roles in finding
solutions to a host of vexing health problems. Lives everywhere may be saved and
improved because of their bold innovations in public health, cell
differentiation, and cancer treatments."

"In bestowing these honors, the Lasker Foundation hopes to focus attention on
innovative thinkers and researchers whose willingness to challenge assumptions
and pursue new paths will expand our scientific knowledge and lead to an
enhanced quality of life," said Joseph L. Goldstein, Chair of the Lasker Medical
Research Awards Jury.

The Lasker Awards, which carry an honorarium of $250,000 for each category, will
be presented at a ceremony on Friday, October 2 at the Pierre Hotel in New York
City. Since 1945, the Lasker Awards program has recognized the contributions of
scientists, physicians, and public servants internationally who have made major
advances in the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of
human disease.

Honoring Insight & Innovation in Science

The 2009 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award honors John Gurdon, 76, of
Cambridge University and Shinya Yamanaka, 47, of Kyoto University whose
discoveries concerning nuclear reprogramming opened new avenues for pursuing
exciting aspects of embryonic and adult stem cell research, for understanding
inscrutable diseases, and for exploring personalized cell-replacement therapies.

Starting in the mid-1950s, Gurdon established that the vast majority of the
body`s cell types retain all of their genetic information as they specialize and
that the right conditions can wake up genes that turn idle during development.
Gurdon`s discoveries in frog eggs ignited the entire field of "nuclear
reprogramming" whereby specialized adult cells turn into stem cells that can
then differentiate to form many of the body`s tissues. This line of inquiry with
mammalian eggs allowed other work to unfold, including the creation by Scottish
scientists of Dolly, the sheep that made history in 1997 as the first clone made
from the nucleus of a fully specialized mammalian adult cell.

Picking up on Gurdon`s findings, but obviating the need for using eggs, Shinya
Yamanaka stunned the world in 2006 by reprogramming fully differentiated mouse
skin cells into stem cells that can specialize into many fetal and adult types
of cells. Subsequent research based on the findings of Gurdon and Yamanaka has
the potential to make reprogrammed cells a source of patient-specific cells for
use in medicine that will enable the body to regenerate, repair, replace and
restore diseased or damaged cells, tissues and organs.

The 2009 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award honors Brian J. Druker,
54, of Oregon Health & Science University, Nicholas B. Lydon, 52, formerly of
Novartis, and Charles L. Sawyers, 50 of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Druker and Lydon`s research led to the development of imatinib (or Gleevec).
Sawyers` research spearheaded efforts toward combating the resistance to Gleevec
that arises in some patients. The team`s discoveries converted chronic myeloid
leukemia (CML) from a fatal cancer to a manageable condition. Gleevec has
revolutionized the world of cancer drug discovery and therapy by its mode of
action, which specifically targets a cancer-causing molecule, killing abnormal
cells and avoiding damage to normal cells. Rather than aiming at rapidly
proliferating cells and provoking toxic side effects, as standard
chemotherapeutic agents do, the awardees stymied the single rogue enzyme that
triggers CML-a tactic that most scientists predicted would fail.

Druker and Lydon persevered, and in 1996 they reported that Gleevecdestroys
cells that require the enzyme to survive but not other cells. Sawyers, who was
studying the enzyme, joined the effort and clinical trials got underway in 1998
leading to astonishing results. At one point they witnessed something no
oncologist had seen before - patients on the edge of death were climbing out of
bed and leaving the hospital within one week of their first Gleevec dose. In May
2001, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the drug. Sawyers then led
efforts toward combating the resistance to Gleevec that arises in some patients.
In an unprecedented approach for the field, he ferreted out the molecular basis
of resistance and, based on this information, conceived ways to once again
strangle the cancer cells that no longer succumb to the drug. The dramatic
success of Druker, Lydon, and Sawyers has provided a model that extends well
beyond CML. Indeed, many potential drugs for cancer that attack specific
troublesome molecules are now in development and dozens have been approved.
Druker, Lydon and Sawyers have radically improved the prognosis for CML and have
provided a new paradigm for cancer therapy.

The 2009 Mary Woodard Lasker Public Service Award honors New York City Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg, 67, for employing sound science in making policy decisions
and advancing public health through enlightened philanthropy. In doing so, he
faced down fierce opposition from vested interests to reduce tobacco use and
promote healthy eating habits, helping stop disease before it starts. Mayor
Bloomberg`s efforts continue to resonate throughout the world, contributing to a
decline in tobacco use among New York City teenagers and an increased reliance
on healthier ingredients by restaurants. Without political action to curb the
consumption of harmful substances and major educational initiatives to nurture
responsible choices in diet and lifestyle, even the most promising medical
advances will not reverse the incidence of heart disease, cancer, obesity and
diabetes. Bloomberg has fueled advances not only through his activities as an
elected official, but also by backing higher education in public health with
unprecedented levels of support and committing $350 million to a global
initiative to combat tobacco use. By relentlessly translating knowledge about
public health into bold government action, he has benefited a large urban
community and set an example and a new standard for cities and countries across
the globe.

Additional information: Brian Druker and Charles Sawyers are Investigators at
the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Shinya Yamanaka is a Senior Investigator at
the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease.

The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation fosters the prevention and treatment of
disease and disabilities by honoring excellence in basic and clinical science by
educating the public and by advocating for support of medical research. Founded
in 1942, the Lasker Foundation presents the prestigious Lasker Awards, which
recognize the world`s leaders in basic and clinical medical research, and
individuals with outstanding public service. For much of the 20th Century, the
Foundation was led by Mary Lasker, who was America`s most prominent
citizen-activist for public investment in medical research. She is widely
credited with motivating the White House and the Congress to greatly expand
federal funding for medical research, particularly through the National
Institutes of Health.

About the Lasker Awards: The Lasker Awards are among the most respected science
prizes in the world. Recipients of the Lasker Medical Research Awards are
selected by an international jury chaired by Joseph L. Goldstein, recipient of
the 1985 Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research and the Nobel Prize in
Medicine. The Public Service Award Selection Committee is chaired by Harvey V.
Fineberg, President of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of
Science. Lasker Laureates receive a citation highlighting their achievements and
an inscribed statuette of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Lasker
Foundation`s traditional symbol representing humanity`s victory over disease,
disability, and death. Seventy-six Lasker Laureates have received the Nobel
Prize, including 28 in the last two decades. More details on the 2009 Lasker
Award recipients, the full citations for each award category, video interviews
and photos of the awardees and additional information on the foundation are
available at www.laskerfoundation.org.

Rubenstein Communications, Inc.
Charles Zehren, 212-843-8590 / Cell: 631-681-7107
czehren@rubenstein.com
or
Janet Wootten, 212-843-8032 / Cell: 917-362-8537
jwootten@rubenstein.com
or
Alix Smith, 212-843-9305
asmith@rubenstein.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009