Tasuku Honjo

Tasuku Honjo shared the 2018 Nobel Prize with James Allison for the discovery of PD-1 (programmed death-1) and its role as a co-inhibitory receptor that induces T cell exhaustion. His demonstration that PD-1 blockade could enhance anti-tumor immune responses provided the scientific basis for pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and other anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies — now among the most transformative cancer drugs ever developed.