Weizmann Institute Achievements

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JUST A FEW OF THE WEIZMANN INSTITUTE'S DISCOVERIES THAT BENEFIT HUMANITY

Weizmann Institute scientists have developed new ways of fighting disease and hunger, protecting the environment, and harnessing alternative energy solutions. Here are few examples of some of our proudest achievements.

T Cells For Eshhar Story2 160

Leukaemia Breakthrough

A therapy devised by Weizmann Institute immunologist Prof. Zelig Eshhar for the treatment of a blood cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukaemia showed a 94% success rate in early-stage clinical trials in a study released in 2016. In the trial, cancers in 27 out of 29 patients went into remission or disappeared altogether. All of the patients in the study were considered “end-stage”—people with advanced cancers who have exhausted all other treatment options.

For Scherz Saloman Story 160

Revolutionary Prostate Cancer Treatment

A new therapy for the treatment of early-stage prostate cancer invented by Prof. Avigdor Scherz and Prof. Yoram Salomon called Vascular Targeted Photodynamic Therapy used in concert with TOOKAD Soluble® (TS-VTP) was recently approved for clinical use in Mexico and has shown successful results in a European trial and a U.S. trial. The therapy is being tested in 2016 in clinical trials for advanced prostate cancer, bladder cancer, gastroesophageal cancer, and breast cancer.

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A Nobel Prize Winning Discovery

Prof. Ada Yonath’s mapping of the ribosome, the cell’s protein factory, led to her winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009. She was the first Israeli woman to win a Nobel Prize. Her studies, which stimulated intensive research worldwide, have major implications for the  development of more advanced and effective antibiotics. They also are likely to aid in the struggle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. 

Copaxone 160

A Lifeline for Multiple Sclerosis patients

 The development of the  blockbuster drug Copaxone® for  the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) over three decades, from the 1960s to 1990s, by Profs. Michael Sela and Ruth Arnon and Dr. Dvora Teitelbaum, produced and marketed by Teva Pharmeceuticals. A second major MS drug, Rebif®, was later developed by Prof. Michel Revel and is produced and marketed by Merck Serono.

For P53 Story 160

The Guardian of the Genome

Revealing the importance of the major tumour suppressor protein, p53. The seminal work of Profs. David Givol, Moshe Oren, and Varda Rotter involved cloning and characterizing the gene that encodes the p53 protein, what has since become the most studied protein in cancer research. The scientists showed that p53 actively prevents cancer; it has since been found that p53 is dysfunctional in almost all cancer types.

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Innovation in Cancer Detection

An MRI-based method to which the FDA gave a “green light,“ called “Three Time Point” (3TP), invented by Prof. Hadassa Degani, detects breast and prostate cancers noninvasively. The technique produces an image of blood vessels supplying cancerous tumors with oxygen, making it possible to distinguish between malignant and benign growths.

For Amir Pnueli Story 160

Computing Excellence

Sophisticated methods for verifying the correctness and reliability of computer hardware and software. These methods, developed by the late Prof. Amir Pnueli, are necessary for use in control systems of nuclear reactors and space missile launchers, and are being considered for use in creating “smart roads” equipped with sensors for preventing traffic accidents.

For Encryption Story 160

Making the Internet Secure

Encryption algorithms that allow secure Internet monetary transactions and a myriad of computer-based transactions, co-invented by Prof. Adi Shamir. The RSA technology provided the foundations for start-up companies that fuel Israel’s booming telecommunications industry.

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