Singapore: Dr Theodore Friedmann, MD, professor in the department of pediatrics at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, was named one of three recipients of the 2015 Japan Prize, a prestigious award honoring international laureates.

The formal awards ceremony is scheduled for April 23, 2015 in Tokyo. Dr Freidman has been recognized for his pioneering work and contribution in the field of gene therapy. The sponsoring Japan Prize Foundation has described Dr Friedmann as "the father of gene therapy."

Dr Alain Fischer, MD, PhD, director of immunology at the Necker Hospital in Paris, France, will be sharing the prize with Dr Freidman for the field of medical science and medicinal science. Dr Fischer will receive the award for demonstrating the clinical efficacy of gene therapy by successfully treating children suffering from a severe genetic disorder that renders them extremely vulnerable to infections.

Each laureate will receive a certificate of recognition and commemorative gold medal. A cash award of approximately $416,600 will also be given to each prize field. Since its inception in 1985, 83 laureates from 13 countries have received the Japan Prize in a variety of fields and disciplines and many have subsequently become Nobel Prize laureates as well.

Dr Freidman said that this recognition will help to further spur and accelerate the field of gene therapy across the world. "We are well past the stage of having to prove the concept of gene therapy we are at the point where we can truly begin to deliver real treatments to real people."