Four Japanese Researchers Win Lasker Awards for Sleep Science and Hemophilia Drug Hemlibra
核心洞察
Yanagisawa Masashi of the University of Tsukuba shared the Lasker Basic Medical Research Award with Stanford's Emmanuel Mignot for identifying orexin (搜索) and its role in narcolepsy (搜索).
Three Chugai Pharmaceutical researchers received the Clinical Medical Research Award for developing Hemlibra, an antibody treatment for hemophilia A (搜索).
The four are the first Japanese scientists in 12 years to win the awards, which the Lasker Foundation (搜索) will present in New York on September 17.
Four Japanese researchers have been named winners of the 2026 Lasker Awards for medicine, recognized for work that spans the neurobiology of sleep and the development of an antibody therapy for hemophilia A (搜索).
Yanagisawa Masashi, a professor at the University of Tsukuba who heads its International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, shared the Basic Medical Research Award with Emmanuel Mignot, a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. The Lasker Foundation (搜索) cited their contributions to advancing the understanding of sleep through the identification of orexin (搜索), a brain peptide that helps maintain wakefulness.
Yanagisawa discovered orexin (搜索), a substance involved in sleep control, and through research in mice showed that orexin deficiency causes the uncontrolled sleepiness characteristic of narcolepsy (搜索), a disorder marked by sudden, overwhelming urges to sleep. According to the source materials, this breakthrough has contributed to the development of therapeutic drugs.
"I am extremely honored to receive this award. I am also very happy that the study of sleep has been recognized," Yanagisawa said. He added that he is honored to win in a field that historically has received little recognition, and that the prize is highly encouraging and opens up expectations for further research.
Antibody Therapy for Hemophilia A
The Clinical Medical Research Award went to three researchers from Japan's Chugai Pharmaceutical: Hattori Kunihiro, Kitazawa Takehisa and Igawa Tomoyuki. They invented an antibody to help treat hemophilia A (搜索), a disorder that makes it difficult to stop bleeding because the body cannot produce enough of a protein needed for blood clotting.
The three developed Hemlibra, a medication for hemophilia. Hattori said he is very honored that the dedicated efforts by many researchers and clinical experts for the benefit of society and patients have resulted in the award.
A Familiar Path to Stockholm
The Lasker Awards are known for producing many Nobel laureates and often serve as pointers to potential Nobel Prize winners. Past winners include Kyoto University Professor Yamanaka Shinya, who received a Lasker in 2009 and went on to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012.
The four researchers are the first Japanese scientists in 12 years, since Kazutoshi Mori of Meijo University, to receive the prestigious awards, which are presented by the New York-based Lasker Foundation (搜索). The foundation will hold the awards ceremony in New York on September 17.