Hugues de Thé, professor at the Collège de France and director of the Leukemia Institute, received the Shaw Prize in Life Sciences and Medicine on 27 May 2026, alongside Anne Dejean, professor emerita at the Institut Pasteur, and Zhu Chen, professor at Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

This distinction recognizes their work on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of acute promyelocytic leukemia, which led to the development of a combined targeted therapy that profoundly transformed the prognosis of this disease, formerly among the most lethal cancers, into a now highly curable pathology, with more than 90% cure rates.

Awarded since 2004 by the Shaw philanthropic Foundation in Hong Kong, this prize highlights the major impact of their research.

More broadly, this international recognition underscores the capacity of fundamental research to lead to concrete medical advances that are beneficial to patients.